i386 or x86_64 on laptop?

[John Summerfield]

sean darcy wrote:
> I'm installing f8t3 0n a compaq presario c714 laptop, intel GM965 
> chipset, T2310 2 gigs. This is a general purpose machine, the only heavy 
> lifting might be using ffmpeg for rendering.
> 
> I need to use ndiswrapper to deal with a broadcom rev 2 wlan. I'd like 
> to be able to use Flash.
> 
> I've looked around for any real benchmarks on using x86_64. I haven't 
> found any, which suggests to me that there are no substantial benefits 
> to x86_64.
> 
> Does anyone know of any real data comparing the two?

Responses seem scarce.

My feeling is you wouldn't notice the difference. 32-bit is likely to be 
more reliable wrt brand-x add-ons such as that binary blob you hope to 
wrap in ndiswrapper.

64-bits is better when you need lots of RAM (maybe more than 3 Gb on 
Intellish h/w), or lots of big programs (say, database, http servers, I 
won't rule out graphics rendering).

I plan on 64-bits for my HP desktop, but I have ideas of running several 
virtual machines.


-- 

Cheers
John

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