[SOLVED] 32-bit or 64-bit for 3GB RAM on Pentium dual-core T4400

Turbocapitalist · 04-13-2019, 01:43 AM

I'm looking at installing either 32-bit or 64-bit Linux Mint on a machine with 3GB RAM and a Pentium dual-core T4400.

The amount of RAM is rather small. Should I choose 32-bit to save on RAM or choose 64-bit for speed. According to lscpu it can handle either.

syg00 · 04-13-2019, 01:58 AM

I haven't used 32-bit forever - and I'd be surprised if Mint will support it (very) soon.
I use Mate desktop on hardware limited Mint installs - 3G is plenty for "normal" usage.

Turbocapitalist · 04-13-2019, 02:15 AM

Thanks. I figured 32-bit would be a risk for long-term use.

ondoho · 04-13-2019, 02:23 AM

^ maybe for a gui distro, but my server is a single core 32bit laptop running debian and i don't see debian dropping support for that anytime soon.

mrmazda · 04-14-2019, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbocapitalist

I'm looking at installing either 32-bit or 64-bit Linux Mint on a machine with 3GB RAM and a Pentium dual-core T4400.

The amount of RAM is rather small. Should I choose 32-bit to save on RAM or choose 64-bit for speed. According to lscpu it can handle either.

With 3GB RAM I would expect any observable speed difference to depend on which and how many apps you run, and which DE, more than on which arch. I have all my 2 core PCs switched to 64 bit, my single cores remaining on 32, no matter how much RAM is installed. If speed is paramount, make sure all installed RAM is comprised of paired matched sticks, uncommon among PCs with 3GB installed. Dual Channel memory architecture motherboards can exhibit a nearly 50% reduction in performance when sticks are not installed as adequately matched pairs.

The following still produces quite respectable performance for my needs:

Code:

inxi -Gxxbm
System:    Host: gx320 Kernel: 4.12.14-lp150.12.58-default x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 7.3.1
           Desktop: Trinity R14.0.6 tk: Qt 3.5.0 wm: Twin dm: TDM Distro: openSUSE Leap 15.0
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Dell product: OptiPlex 320 v: N/A serial: 214F6F1 Chassis: type: 7
           serial: 214F6F1
           Mobo: Dell model: 0TY915 serial: ..CN708217AGC1TI. BIOS: Dell v: 1.1.12 date: 06/17/2009
Memory:    RAM: total: 1.91 GiB used: 363.4 MiB (18.6%)
           Array-1: capacity: 2 GiB slots: 2 EC: Single-bit ECC
           Device-1: DIMM_1 size: 1 GiB speed: 667 MT/s
           Device-2: DIMM_3 size: 1 GiB speed: 667 MT/s
CPU:       Dual Core: Intel Core2 Duo E4400 type: MCP arch: Core Merom speed: 2000 MHz
Graphics:  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RC410 [Radeon Xpress 200/1100] vendor: Dell driver: radeon
           v: kernel bus ID: 01:05.0 chip ID: 1002:5a61
           Display: server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: ati,radeon unloaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa
           resolution: 1680x1050~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: ATI RC410 v: 2.1 Mesa 18.0.2 direct render: Yes
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL-8100/8101L/8139 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter driver: 8139too v: 0.9.28 port: dc00
           bus ID: 02:01.0 chip ID: 10ec:8139
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 149.01 GiB used: 35.73 GiB (24.0%)
Info:      Processes: 151 Uptime: N/A Memory: 1.91 GiB used: 262.0 MiB (13.4%) Init: systemd v: 234 runlevel: 5
           target: multi-user.target Compilers: gcc: N/A Shell: bash v: 4.4.23 running in: konsole inxi: 3.0.33