The state of 64-bit Desktop Linux
Marc Lanctot
lanctot-yfeSBMgouQgsA/PxXw9srA at public.gmane.org
Wed Feb 11 16:04:59 UTC 2009
Marc Lanctot wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> My main machine at home has really been slow and I realized I made a bad
> purchase 2 years ago. I'm quite sure it was low quality hardware that
> was to blame, a HP Pavilion that came with a Pentium D chip which I'd
> never heard of. I never figured out if Ubuntu was the cause of any of
> the slow down but I do know that when I used Fluxbox over Gnome, or KDE
> applications vs. Gnome applications the slowdown was more tolerable. If
> I left my machine on all the time.. after 2-3 days it became unusable
> unless I rebooted it. It became quite loud too, regardless of how many
> fans I'd used to try to fix the heat problem.
>
> I recently ordered a Dell Precision T3400. It's coming with a 64-bit
> Intel Core 2 Duo (3 GHz) processor. It's a desktop intended to be a home
> machine, user-friendly enough for my girlfriend to use as well.
>
> In the past I've fought with 64-bit distributions. It's not Linux itself
> that was the problem, it was the lack of compatibility for certain key
> applications I'd gotten used to, mainly: Flash and Java browser plugins.
>
> Now I've done the whole having a separate Firefox, or having a 32-bit
> plugin wrapper, or using open flash alternatives. I'm not interested in
> these "hacks". I would like to run Adobe Flash native and Sun's (not
> Blackdown or anything else) Java plugin for Firefox. I ran into so many
> problems that I decided I wasn't ready to run 64-bit Linux on a desktop
> and have been dealing with a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit capable processor.
>
> I've seen recently that Adobe *finally* released support for 64-bit
> Flash in version 10 (beta?).
>
> It seems like after 2 years there's hope for me running 64-bit Linux on
> my desktop.
>
> My questions are, /from your experience/
>
> - I'll need to shrink the partition with Vista on it to make space for
> my Linux partition. I usually use GNU parted. Do you foresee any issues
> with this?
>
> - Is the 64-bit NVIDIA drivers stable and working well (compared to the
> 32-bit ones). I'm getting a "256MB PCIe x16 nVidia NVS 290, Dual Monitor
> DVI Capable". The most intense thing I do with my video card is watch
> movies (no games, no video production, etc.) With my current machine,
> even watching a single movie will cause noticeable slow down afterwards.
>
> - Is 64-bit Flash 10 stable and working well?
>
> - Can I use an up-to-date Sun 64-bit Java plugin for Firefox (let's say
> "up-to-date means" 5.0 or later)
>
> - Is there any reason I would install, say, Debian vs. Ubuntu. Of all
> the distros I've tried these two remain my favorite. However, Ubuntu has
> continued to let me down since it came out. I keep using it because it's
> more user friendly for my girlfriend (nice apps for Digital Cameras
> etc.) though I have gone back and forth several times. The main issue I
> have is that it makes a lot of assumptions that slow your machine down..
> like file system options and running several unnecessary background
> processes that bloat up the system. I've had problem with compiz slowing
> down video as well. Maybe this won't be much of an issue on the new
> machine... or maybe I can just look into a HOWTO for slimming down the
> default Ubuntu.
>
> - Are there any other obvious problems running 64-bit Linux on a Desktop
> I should know about?
>
> Your answers will determine whether or not I stick with 32-bit OS for
> the time-being. Thanks in advance for your help.
Sorry .. I forgot a few things
- The applications I use the most: firefox (with acroread, flash, and
java plugins), thunderbird (with lightning and google calendar plugin),
gvim and vim, gcc/g++, make, java, subversion, latex (tetex), pidgin,
and audacious.
- If CUPS supports a printer in 32-bit Linux, would there be any issues
with that same printer through CUPS in 64-bit?
I'm looking forward to finall harnessing the power of a 64-bit processor :)
Marc
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