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I want to install Ubuntu 64 Bit on a i5 CPU, but I'm not sure how the 64 Bit version performs now.

How good is the application support for it? Are there any issues to be aware of?

In general, is it better to go with a 32 Bit or 64 Bit operating system?

slhck
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alex
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    64 bit with ia32-libs will be fine – Sandeep Bansal Oct 26 '11 at 08:51
  • How much ram do you have? – Paul Oct 26 '11 at 08:56
  • @SandeepBansal what do you mean with ia32-libs? 64 bit Ubuntu + installing ia32-libs? – alex Oct 26 '11 at 09:02
  • @Paul i have 4 GB – alex Oct 26 '11 at 09:03
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    @alex yes that's right, it just installs 32 bit libraries just to make sure you don't come across any problems. But whenever I've installed my 64 bit OS's I've only had to install ia32-libs with server setups. – Sandeep Bansal Oct 26 '11 at 09:09
  • what do you mean server setup? as in ubuntu server version? ps: make that as an answer so i can vote it ) – alex Oct 26 '11 at 09:18
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    See also: [32-bit vs. 64-bit systems](http://superuser.com/questions/56540/32-bit-vs-64-bit-systems) – slhck Oct 26 '11 at 10:04
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    If you are talking server, then install 64bit, no question. At some point you may require full memory support and this will prevent you needing to re-install (there is no upgrade path from 32bit to 64bit). On the desktop side, most 64bit issues are no longer there, but java and flash tend to lag behind. – Paul Oct 26 '11 at 11:12
  • @Paul, as a programmer i'm looking forward to develop java apps. What issues are there with 64bit? – alex Oct 26 '11 at 17:47

3 Answers3

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Short answer : 64 bit.

If you want a longer explanation and some documentation about the topic, see ubuntu-64-bit-vs-32-bit.

Community
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Maxime R.
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I use 64 bit Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Mint/Arch for years. 64 bit version has become good enough and as people already said you can install 32bit library's easely:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

Another clue that could convince you is that from next release Ubuntu will no longer recommend 32-bit versions when you click on "Download Ubuntu" because the assumption is that most people have hardware that is capable of 64 bit computing. You are ready now (I hope you don't have less RAM than 2Gb with such processor).

enedene
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I haven't encountered any 32-bit problems with my 64-bit OS for a few years now. I would definetily go with 64-bit so that I don't need to migrate later.

Antti Rytsölä
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