# Problems using 64 bit

## Noerbo

Hello

  I am about to get a new laptop and am therefore considering if I should use the 32 or 64 bit version. I have read about mixing the two but it seems like a lot of trouble and it also seems like there will still be some software that will not work.

  But is using 64 bit really so much trouble as it sounds?

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## UgolinoII

My experience is that 64bit is far better suported thesedays, and you shouldnt really have any issues. Java, flash and windows codecs used to be the main sticking points but they all seem to work well now.

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## phajdan.jr

Yeah, no major problems. Just read official docs, and maybe unofficial wiki and it should be fine.

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## Noerbo

What about games, like Doom 3, UT etc?

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## phajdan.jr

AFAIK if they run under 32-bit wine, they should run under 64-bit one (I have some other games, like PGIII under 64-bit wine and it's fine).

If you speak about native versions, they're either 64-bit or should use 32-bit libraries, which means they should work.

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## KAMIKAZE_

 *_ph wrote:*   

> AFAIK if they run under 32-bit wine, they should run under 64-bit one (I have some other games, like PGIII under 64-bit wine and it's fine).
> 
> If you speak about native versions, they're either 64-bit or should use 32-bit libraries, which means they should work.

 

WTF? Is there any native wine64 ???

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## jfp

 *Noerbo wrote:*   

> Hello
> 
>   I am about to get a new laptop and am therefore considering if I should use the 32 or 64 bit version. I have read about mixing the two but it seems like a lot of trouble and it also seems like there will still be some software that will not work.
> 
>   But is using 64 bit really so much trouble as it sounds?

 

I am not sure where you have been "reading", but my own experience with 64bit Gentoo is totally positive.

I have been running 64bit Gentoo on one computer (Desktop, AMD 3800+) for nearly three years and on a laptop (HP dv6000t, Core 2 Duo (BTW, I am very happy with the HP laptop)) for 6 monhs. I simply cannot point to any issue that could be attributed to running 64bit. (well... You will need to install the Firefox 32bit binary version, if you want to run Flash. That is not a 64bit Gentoo problem, per se, but rather the fact that Macromedia does not provide a 64bit (binary) Flash player)

I cannot address any aspect of running games. I don't run any. However, it would be my bet that any issue relating to games would be a function of running games under Linux (Gentoo) generally, rather than having anything to do with 32bit vs. 64bit. I have never used Wine (I use VMWare v5 and v6 for anything I need windows for. (There are a couple of windows-base apps that I must use).

I think I would base my 32bit vs. 64bit decision mostly on finances. I assume a Core Duo (32bit) machive is a bit less expenve than a Core2 Duo machine. I wish I could recommend an AMD based machine (which would be the least expensive), but the current state of the technology seems to indicate Intel over AMD.

I would also recommend getting a machine with descrete graphics based on Nvidia. Both of my Gentoo systems are using Nvidia graphics boards and I have not had any issue with graphics at all. It may well be that Intel GMA (with shared memory) and ATI graphics work fine, but I have no personal experience with them.

jfp

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## phajdan.jr

 *KAMIKAZE_ wrote:*   

> WTF? Is there any native wine64 ???

 

Okay, technically it's 32 (I checked to be sure). I meant I compiled it on a 64-bit system, and didn't check whether the binary itself is 32 or 64. Anyway, it works.

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## KAMIKAZE_

 *_ph wrote:*   

>  *KAMIKAZE_ wrote:*   WTF? Is there any native wine64 ??? 
> 
> Okay, technically it's 32 (I checked to be sure). I meant I compiled it on a 64-bit system, and didn't check whether the binary itself is 32 or 64. Anyway, it works.

 

Probably you are multi-lib user. So wine isn't 64bit binary at all.  :Sad: 

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## i92guboj

Games based on wine works the same, as long as your installation is multilib capable (otherwise, wine would not even compile, of course). The rest of games (native ports and native linux games), like neverwinter nights or doom III to name a couple, works the same in 32 or 64 bits, that doesn't mean they work perfectly, but that the problems that you will find are around as well if you use a 32 bits gentoo. 

I know from first hand that nwn has some bugs and their linux client sucks (I don't know if the windows one is the same kind of crap, though), for example.

As long as you have multilib enabled (the default and desktop profiles do have it) and you have all the required libraries installed for 32 bits (they are in the emul-* packages in portage, so, don't worry about it if you are installing stuff that is in portage), you will not have a problem. At least, not an amd64 specific problem. 

I never had any 64bit related trouble using the stuff in portage, though I must admit that I rarely use flash, and never use java.

For flash there are a number of solutions: you can konqueror with a nsplugins compiled for 32 bits with the 32 bitls flash plugin. You can also use a 32 bits browser, like firefox or opera. You can also use nspluginwrappers (some people say it is buggy, I don't have a problem with it). You can also use gnash, though I doubt that it is ready for any real world usage.

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## phajdan.jr

 *i92guboj wrote:*   

> I never had any 64bit related trouble using the stuff in portage, though I must admit that I rarely use flash, and never use java.

 

I can confirm no issues with flash (use it pretty often, mainly for online videos and screencasts). Java works fine, either standalone and as a browser plugin (I run some applets from time to time, and use Netbeans IDE to develop some apps).

 *i92guboj wrote:*   

> For flash there are a number of solutions: you can konqueror with a nsplugins compiled for 32 bits with the 32 bitls flash plugin. You can also use a 32 bits browser, like firefox or opera. You can also use nspluginwrappers (some people say it is buggy, I don't have a problem with it). You can also use gnash, though I doubt that it is ready for any real world usage.

 

I recommend 32-bit firefox (firefox-bin) and netscape-flash.

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## KAMIKAZE_

 *_ph wrote:*   

> I recommend 32-bit firefox (firefox-bin) and netscape-flash.

 

I recommend to annihilate Adobe and Skype  :Evil or Very Mad: 

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