I have a dual core AMD x2 3800+ processor on my comp, and I want to dual-boot linux. My question is this: Can I still run the x86 distribution, or do I specifically need the AMD64 version? If so, what are my options for a distro? I don't like Debian's support, but gentoo seems like it will work. Anyone have experience with running gentoo on an AMD64 chip? Thanks for the advice.

You shouldn't have any trouble running the 32-bit version, just like Windows, you'll be limited to upto 32-bit applications. In order to use apps compiled for 64-bit, you will need a 64-bit distro.

No, you don't need the x64 version (unless you're planning to run native x64 apps). An x64 processor will happily pretend it's an x86 processor, and run faster than most x86es out there.

BTW, right now I wouldn't recommend linux64 for anyone other than hobbyists. App compatibility is insufficient, and the linux32 compatibility layer is unwieldy to set up and to use.

Another option is to get Solaris 10. It is avaiable free now. It isn't Linux, it is actual Unix. It has 64-bit support.

I install 32-bit Linux builds on my dual-core Opteron P165 all the time with no problem. I have also installed custom 64-bit builds on the same hardware. The speed is about the same, but the crash dumps are larger.

Some of my cow orkers have run Gentoo on their AMD64 systems. I have not heard them complain.

Ive been running openSuse 10.1 x64 for almost 5 months, havent had a single problem, well i take that back one boot for somereason disabled all my usb ports leaving me without a keyboard or mouse to use lol it was sure fun.

I run the gentoo amd64 distro, and thus far there have been no major problems. I had an issue w/ the flash plugin for firefox IIRC, but I just did a quick search, and that was resolved easily.

Other than that... everythings run perfectly! (thus far anyway!)

Quote: Original post by Rattrap
Another option is to get Solaris 10. It is avaiable free now. It isn't Linux, it is actual Unix. It has 64-bit support.

You mean Linux isn't Unix?!

Anyway, native 64 bit apps will probabely run a bit faster than 32 bit software on a 64 bit processor. Every now and again I try a 64 bit ditro, but usually I fall back to a 32 bit Linux because there's some software still not available in 64 bit and I don't feel like setting up a 32bit compatibility layer.

My biggest gripe is Flash. It's still not there for 64 bit. Using the 32bit version would mean that my browser needs to be 32 bit as well. Since that's the piece of software I use far more often than anything else at the moment (programming is slow lately) I don't really see the value of 64 bit Linux for me yet.

Emphasize that last part: for me. If you do video editing or other CPU intensive stuff on Linux and your software is available in native 64bit then go for it. It'll probabely be worth your while.

Quote: Original post by Sander
You mean Linux isn't Unix?!

Well, Linux is Unix in the same way that a power wheels is a Jeep.

I ran Gentoo as AMD64 for a while. It was painful and ultimately a waste of time. Compatibility was a pain, since you had to set up side-by-side 32 bit and 64 bit environments. I don't think Linux was ever designed for that kind of hackery (whereas it's an integral part of Windows' history). Unless you have a compelling reason to go 64 bit, you are just making your linux experience even more painful than it needs to be.

Linux was designed to emulate Minix which was designed to be a Unix-clone.

Linux at Wikipedia