From: invalid@invalid.invalid   
      
   Searching this NG and the web, I am left with the impression that using a   
   64 bit distro will only provide a noticeable improvement over 32 bits if   
   you have lots of RAM and a fast processor. But how much is "lots"? How   
   fast is "fast"? Having reached end of life, I'll soon be replacing my 32   
   bit mdv2010.2 with something newer. While I have no complaint with my   
   current 32 bits, now is a good time for me to consider the alternative.   
      
   Per hardinfo, my hardware is:   
      
   Processor		: 2x Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual  CPU  E2140  @ 1.60GHz   
   Memory		: 1015MB (556MB used)   
   Operating System		: Mandriva Linux 2010.2   
      
   The mobo can accept up to 4 GB of DDR2 RAM.   
      
   The 64 bit live versions of Crunchbang 10, Mint Debian Edition 13, Mageia   
   2, and mdv 2011 all work on my box, although the latter is noticeably   
   slower than the others.   
      
   However, my interest is in learning a general rule of thumb to apply to   
   hardware generally, and not simply "your box is best suited for an X bit   
   OS".   
      
   TIA,   
   --   
   Warren Post   
   http://my.opera.com/wpost/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)