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I have a laptop with a Core 2 Duo processor, and I'm going to install Linux. What advantages (speed or others) are there in using the 64-bit version of my favorite distro, vs using the 32-bit version ?

Some specifics:

  • This answer states that "Programs may run a bit faster." How much faster ?

  • I have 4GB of ram (or less), so the 4gb memory limit of 32-bit is not a problem.

  • This is a Core 2 Duo, which is somewhat old, but would a newer processor be different ?

I'm asking because I'm deciding between having compatibility with my even older 32bit systems (using compiled binaries, swapping hard drives, and such), and possible speed or other advantages.

Community
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Jonas Czech
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  • The only answerable question you have asked is entirely dependent on hardware. At the end of the day you can still run 32-bit programs on a 64-bit operating system. – Ramhound Oct 27 '15 at 12:38
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    There is a really good article [here](http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-64bit_5.html) that goes into very deep detail about the differences in performance (I'd write it as an answer, but its way too long and complicated!) – Michael B Oct 27 '15 at 12:48
  • `How much faster?` There's no general answer for this. It depends on how much memory access, pointer usage, 64-bit math, arbitrary precision math, register usage... of the program – phuclv Oct 27 '15 at 15:40
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    [Processor Architecture: What is the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit CPUs? How does the performance increase for 64-bit CPUs?](https://www.quora.com/Processor-Architecture/What-is-the-difference-between-32-bit-and-64-bit-CPUs-How-does-the-performance-increase-for-64-bit-CPUs), [Are there any advantages of installing 64 bit OS on a system with 64 bit CPU, even when available memory is less than 4GB?](https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-advantages-of-installing-64-bit-OS-on-a-system-with-64-bit-CPU-even-when-available-memory-is-less-than-4GB), http://superuser.com/q/56540/241386 – phuclv Oct 27 '15 at 15:44

2 Answers2

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit_computing Pros and cons

(I'm providing a summary)

Pros:

  1. Encryption benefits with larger registers.
  2. 3 GB Barrier may be present for 32bit OS: "exact barrier varies by motherboard and I/O device configuration, particularly the size of video RAM; it may be in the range of 2.75 GB to 3.5 GB" Misconception that 32 bit OS is restricted to 4GB - PAE unless you have chipset/mobo issues.
  3. 'more general-purpose registers than their 32-bit counterparts' 'leads to a significant speed increase for tight loops'
  4. Java programs that run on a 64-bit Java virtual machine have access to a larger address space.

Cons:

  1. 'same data occupies more space in memory (due to longer pointers and possibly other types, and alignment padding). This increases the memory requirements of a given process and can have implications for efficient processor cache utilization'
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If your main concern is to have compatibility with other systems, then perhaps staying on a 32-bit OS is good enough.

The only real reason I could see a benefit with 64-bit OS in this particular case is that some software, specifically designed for 64-bit OS's don't work on 32-bit OS's.

This doesn't seem like an issue for you, if you're not interested in any 64-bit software to begin with.

An interesting read from howtogeek on 32-bit vs 64-bit Ubuntu.

Leathe
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  • @Ramhound fair enough. Although there are workarounds, but I can't be bothered to go into those in detail on this answer. I guess the main point should be that you SHOULDN'T RUN 64-bit software on 32-bit at all. – Leathe Oct 27 '15 at 12:44