[LAU] OT: 64 vs 32 bit?

[Fritz Meissner]

On 27 September 2010 22:26, Josh Lawrence <hardbop200 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm late to the party when it comes to 64-bit machines, so apologies
> in advance if I am asking something that should be obvious...
>
> I recently purchased a 64 bit machine and like it a lot, but I've
> noticed that some software that is usually available on a 32 bit
> machine isn't available in the 64 bit repos that I am using.  Can I
> install the 32 bit version of my distro (Debian) on my 64 bit machine?
>  I'm assuming that would give me access to all 32 bit software.  It
> would also be a performance hit, correct?
>
Yes, you can install the 32 bit version. From what I have heard, the
performance difference is not significant, but the major benefit of 64
bit is being able to address more than 4 GB of memory, which is the
limit of what a 32 bit OS can use.

Fritz