I have two questions here. First of all: would it be better to wait a few months to buy a 64 bit CPU. I know how the new technology is always overpriced, is there a possibility that this price may drop substantialy over the next three months?

Also, what is it like running linux with 64 bit? I was going to run slackware. I understand that it is screaming fast, but is it easy to get a 64bit supported kernel, and how many programs out there will support the technology?

I certainly hope so . Personally, I'm betting that the 64-bit processors will drive down the price of 32-bit processors, so I'm going to take the opportunity to buy those.

The kernel isn't a problem. If the distro you want doesn't have a precompiled kernel for you, just compile your own . What's more relevant is whether the distro includes software precompiled for 64-bit processors. I'm pretty sure Mandrake and SuSE have support for 64-bit, but I'm not sure whether it's IA-64 or x86-64. Check their sites. Gentoo also has limited support for both architectures, but you may need to get most of your software from sources other than the main portage tree.
In general, I think you will be spending a lot of time compiling software if you get a 64-bit processor. The speed tradeoff might well be worth it, though.

Ok, I'll keep these things in mind. Thank you for your advice

if you want a 64-bit machine now, buy a powermac G5..

hahaha, yeah, if I could afford it, I would definatly do that. Sadly, I only have about $600 to spend, so I have to get all of my parts either from ebay or from dealers that I know that can give me discounts.