Suse 32 bit vs. 64 bit - no difference

Hey, I downloaded the suse 9.3 - 5 CD set (32 bit) and ordered the 64 bit DVD through the mail, tried them both, and do not see any difference whatsoever except maybe a LITTLE bit of speed increase for the 64 bit but overall I don't see what the big deal is to have 64 bit support when the difference is minimal.
Suprisingly, I had less trouble with the 32 bit version, everything just seemed to go smoother with less dependency issues albeit a bit slower.
What IS supposed to be the difference between the two?
When I did an update of all the patches, it seemed to slow it down quite a bit also.
Is there some processes that do not HAVE to run? I'm only using suse for internet and have no printer installed if that makes a difference.

Thanks!
RANDON

64bit support in linux is definately advancing, however you'll find a lot of little 'gotchas' that creep up.. The future is definately 64-bit in processing, however I wouldn't suggest going 64-bit unless you either have to or you know the hardship it can cause..

- many roprietary device drivers don't work (graphical, wireless via ndiswrapper, etc)
- binary applications don't work
- even many self-compiled programs will fail if not coded correctly..

stick with 32bit..

Originally posted by rdwtux 64bit support in linux is definately advancing, however you'll find a lot of little 'gotchas' that creep up.. The future is definately 64-bit in processing, however I wouldn't suggest going 64-bit unless you either have to or you know the hardship it can cause.. - many roprietary device drivers don't work (graphical, wireless via ndiswrapper, etc) - binary applications don't work - even many self-compiled programs will fail if not coded correctly.. stick with 32bit..

Ahhh, that's why I am having these little quirks on this new install, I can't explain them, it's just a "different" install than the 5 cd set....
I'll go back to 32 bit, it seemed to work better for some reason.
RANDON

64 bit will deal with compiling a lot quicker if you do any compiling, and it should be able to process heavy loads better and faster.

But if you take the negatives of trying to use 64-bit linux on the Desktop and weigh that against the current advantages (slight increase in compile... video manipulation perhaps, etc) it's tough to justify for the average user.

can run 32 bit program in 64 bit opensuse?

Hijacking a five year old thread for this question probably isn't the best way of getting answers to this question, and any information in the existing thread may be elapsed/outdated/wrong by now.

To your question, it should work if you have the correct libraries installed, and you should have the correct libraries installed if you have used package management rather than compiling packages yourself.

There are a certain number of 'shoulds' in there, though.

i can't run Google Chrome i586 in Opensuse 64 bit