Best Platform for Laptop?

[FlameOfTheVoid]

What would be the best fit for a Dell Vostro 1500 4GB RAM Intel Duo Core Processor T7500 2.2GHz /w Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT, 32bit or 64bit OS?

[techieMoe]

Either 32-bit or 64-bit will work just fine on that computer. There are still a few caveats for 64-bit however. There is no official 64-bit version of the Flash plug-in for your web browser. WINE will work on some people's machines and not others in 64-bit (although to be fair, bug reports like that are common in 32-bit as well). There is no noticeable performance difference between the two unless you plan on using more than 4GB of RAM. Just some things to consider.

32-bit Linux can be tweaked (through a kernel recompile) to use more than the upper limit (something like 3.12GB) of RAM you run into in 32-bit operating systems. If you're worried about using all 4GB the machine has though, 64-bit is probably the easier choice.

[FlameOfTheVoid]

Thats what I was wondering. I ordered my laptop with the most RAM i could and was disappointed when Vista 32 could not address all 4Gb. Vista and 32bit Suse only address about 3.5Gb.

On that note, can the 64bit installer be run as an upgrade or does it require and complete reinstall?

[techieMoe]

Thats what I was wondering. I ordered my laptop with the most RAM i could and was disappointed when Vista 32 could not address all 4Gb. Vista and 32bit Suse only address about 3.5Gb.

I think you'll find most 32-bit operating systems (Linux or Windows) will run into that ceiling by default. It can be worked around (article here).

On that note, can the 64bit installer be run as an upgrade or does it require and complete reinstall?

To the best of my knowledge it requires a clean install. More than just the kernel gets changed between a 32-bit and 64-bit system. The file system for one is different (libraries in different spots, etc).

[gogalthorp]

If you have a separate partition for /home you can save your user settings and data. At least most of this is scripts and data files.

When you install the new 64 bit, when it comes to the partitioning scheme select manual /edit and set the home partition not to format. Set the / (root) partition to format. Be sure that you are pointing to the right partitions.

The new install will then use your old home data