Upgrade to 64 bit in Linux mint 8?
 

Hi,
Im pretty new to Linux, but I know enough to run only Linux mint 8. (I hate windows)
But I just noticed yesterday, I have a 64 bit processor, and Im running 32 bit version.
The website says that its less stable (The 64 bit), but is it really worse? I find that my processor gets bogged down very easy in my 32 bit. (No freezes though, I love linux:) )
How do I upgrade to 64 bit without reinstalling the OS?Is that even possible?
What other solutions could there be?
Thanks in advance,

The answer to your first question is that if you want to upgrade to 64 bit you are going to have to re-install.

The answer to your second question is that usually when a processor starts to choke there are applications or processes that are persisting when they should have terminated. The next time it happens try running the 'top' utility in a terminal session to see if you can identify them and then kill them.


Finally, if the Mint website says that the 64 bit version is flaky, it probably is. You might consider switching to Debian, Mepis, or Sidux for a stable 64 bit version.

HTH

Is there real performance enhancement in 64bit? I watch alot of videos, and use high processor usage programs, does 64bit mean that it will increase the processor performance or MHz/GHz ?

You should see a marked performance boost when using cpu intensive applications. Think of it this way -- a 64 bit OS when coupled with a 64 bit cpu can process twice the amount of data per clock cycle as can a 32 bit OS on the same 64 bit cpu.To put it another way: The speed of the computer will only ever be as a fast as the maximum speed of the slowest component in use.

Maybe. But I doubt it.

Absolute nonsense.

So, do you recommend it?

How much will reinstalling bother you?

I use 64 bit Mepis at home. At work I use 64 bit Centos on systems that will run 64 bit (we have some 32 bit Centos on systems with older CPUs).

I still don't know how much performance difference it makes.