[linux-audio-user] AMD64 question: update

[Dave Phillips]

Greetings:

  The final pieces are coming together for the new iron here at Studio 
Dave. I have two last questions (well, for now) :

    Is this a good selection for the hard disk:

       Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3400633A 400 GB 7200 RPM 16MB cache 
EIDE Ultra ATA100, new with Seagate warranty, $166

    I'm considering trying a new distro. Gentoo and Ubuntu are 
recommended, so I might look at them. However, my main question is: Do I 
necessarily want to install a kernel for a 64-bit CPU ? IIUC I'm better 
off running most Linux audio applications in 32-bit mode, which I 
understand occurs seamlessly. But do I need to use a 32-bit kernel for 
those apps, or do I need to install the 64-bit ? (Is that a dumb question?)

Best,

dp