Hey,

I am currently running FC6.i386 on my AMD64 processor. Everything works well but I am thinking of maybe trying some different distro's in the future -- in particular the two mentioned in the title.

I just wanted to know whether FC6.x86_64 is worth the hassle e.g. having to run 32 bit versions of some programs but not for others?

I actually really want to try Slack, would I notice that much of a performance difference if I was using a customized 32 bit Slackware as opposed to 64 bit Fedora? How simple is it to get wireless networking going in Slackware?

I know Slamd64 exists, has anyone/does anyone use it? Is it worth me trying that instead of 64 bit FC6?

Cheers

I've never tried Slamd64. Having said that, I'd try Slackware 11. Ever since trying it out, I'm really loving it! Then again FC6.x86_64 might be worth a shot considering your hardware. Then again, this is Linux, why not try 'em all!!!

Lastly, have you considered FC7? I know I will be as it's the next distro on my list to install & it's really new so it might make your various queries re: FC distros moot. G'luck & let us know what you find.

Depends. Are you willing to put the time into Slackware? Slackware runs lighter than most distros, but you'll have to add your own package retrieving tool like slapt-get.

You'll probably notice some speed difference between the i386 and x86_64, but not by a whole lot. I'd give Debian Etch a try instead, which can be easily customized (just apt-get what you want).

Yeah I've heard Slackware takes time, and I am willing to give it the time. Probably spend the Uni holidays doing it :-)

I've not considered Debian, I will have a look into it.

Thanks for your feedback.

Try both, they are very different distro's.

I just yesterday moved from Slackware-current to FC6.x86_64. I haven't noticed that mixing 32 and 64 bit applications causes any problem (after one day's experience). Getting wifi to work in FC6 was quite a hassle, but mostly I suppose because I've no experience with Fedora/RedHat. I can't yet judge whether I like 64 bits better.

Well I know I would need to use 32 bit Firefox in order to get Flash working. Also last time I tried 64 bit FC6 I had trouble with Eclipse, I did a bit of research and found out that there is no 64 bit Sun Java plugin available for it yet. That's a bit of a pain.

I also have a feeling 64 bit wireless could be harder with having to use 64 bit drivers etc.

Have slam 64 installed around here somewhere . Its pretty good and you can add 32 and 64 bit support easily in it. Haven't played with it much though because seems slackware is still a little faster even on 64 bit machines.

Edit:
Debian is another good choice, my main pref for slackware over it is mainly due to the fact slackware installs and runs easier on my machine without modification and I know how to set it up quickly like I want it. This, however, is most likely due to a lack of knowledge on my part more than any limitations in debian.

Hmmm, having looked into Debian, there doesn't seem to be the fanatical support that Slackware has lol.

Is Debian slightly easier to use that Slack, I'm not an expert by any means but I wouldn't mind something more challenging that Fedora.

Could be. I did it the easy way -- chose a PCI card (D-Link WDA-2320) that was well supported in Linux (by madwifi) and compiled the driver from source. No problem.