some questions about 32 bit / 64 bit

[Gary Jennejohn]

On Fri, 3 Apr 2009 15:27:53 +0200
Harald Servat <redcrash at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi again,
> 
> 2009/4/3 Ivan Voras <ivoras at freebsd.org>
> 
> > Harald Servat wrote:
> >
> > >   My first issue is, I'm currently working with Linux and I'm planning to
> > > switch to FreeBSD 7.1, but I don't know if switch to 32 or 64 bit (i.e.,
> > > i386 or amd64). If I switch to the 32 bit version, which is the memory
> > limit
> >
> >
> > On a server, switch to 64 bit.
> >
> > On a desktop machime, go with 32-bit. You will only be able to address
> > slightly over 3 GB no matter which graphics card you use but on the
> > other hand you'll have better supported drivers and 3rd party software.
> >
> >
>   I've just seen this topic also being mentioned in
>      http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/books/faq/compatibility-memory.html
> 
>   And what about the second issue?
> 
> Thank you very much.
>

All I can say is that I've been using 64-bit FreeBSD as my desktop for
years and never had any real problems.  Of course, this is _not_ a
laptop, so YMMV.  But several people have reported in various MLs
that they're using their laptops in 64-bit mode with success.

Try it in 64-bit mode.  If you have problems, then consider 32-bit mode.

---
Gary Jennejohn