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This is an issue that has brought a lot of confusion among users. Even when they think they know the answer, they are often wrong.
It seemed wise to bring it up now in view of the upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 and Fedora 13 release. As we all know, many Linux distributions have versions optimized for 64 bit processors. This is where our dilemma arises: Will my machine support 64 bit? Can I download the 32 bit version just in case? And the questions continue ... |
Before beginning to unveil these mysteries, let's clarify that to carry out the tests that we will carry out here it is necessary that you already have Linux (any distro) installed on that machine. Otherwise, you can run these commands by booting Linux from a LiveCD.
Let's start by distinguishing between knowing what your hardware actually supports and what kind of kernel you are running on that hardware.
If you want to know if you hardware supports 64 bit, open a terminal and run:
grep flags / proc / cpuinfo
If lm appears in the result, then it supports 64 bit; if Protected Mode appears, it supports 32 bit; if Real Mode appears, it supports 16 bit.
If you want to know if you current kernel supports 64 bit, open a terminal and run:
uname -a
If the result shows "x86_64 GNU / Linux" that indicates that you are running a 64 bit Linux kernel. Instead, if you see "i386 / i486 / i586 / i686", it is a 32 bit kernel.
When you have to decide which version of Ubuntu, Fedora or any other distro to download, what matters is the first command, since it indicates whether or not your hardware supports 64 bit.. The second command only tells you what kind of kernel you have installed.
fpu vme from pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtesther64 monitor ds_cpl pdxm2 mov ssse lam ds_cpl c tm3l mov ssse laxt16
So I run 64-bit systems 😀
Clear
In the result you share, there is a list of "lm", as indicated in the post.
That means next time you can download the 64-bit version of your favorite distro and install that version. That would be, so to speak, the "recommended" based on the hardware you have.
I hope I have been of some help.
Cheers! Paul.
ok I ran the "grep flags / proc / cpuinfo" and I get the following:
fpu vme pse tsc msr PAE mce cx8 apic mtrr PGE mca cmov pat PSE36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt pdpe1gb RDTSCP lm 3dnowext 3dnow constant_tsc up NONSTOP_TSC extd_apicid pni monitor CX16 popcnt lahf_lm SVM extapic cr8_legacy abm SSE4A 3dnowprefetch osvw ibs skinit wdt nodeid_msr npt lbrv svm_lock nrip_save
I am running kubuntu 10.4 and as I did not understand this I am new to linux but my computer has an amd and they had told me that the amd supports both versions 32 and 64.
the question is can I download 64 bit versions? (I'm using a 32-bit one)
Yes, if your laptop says on the outside AMD, it means, that you can install any version of the 64bit distros
Excellent post, thank you very much. I tell you that the result of the second command went well, I am running a 64 kernel. But with the first command I got this: could you explain what happens please?
messianico @ barsa-desktop: ~ $ grep flags / proc / cpuinfo
flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl cmov pat pse64 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl apercm3 s16prm psxt tni est_dpltesm monitorxmXNUMXprm monitor pdcm xsave lahf_lm dts tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority
flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl cmov pat pse64 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl apercm3 s16prm psxt tni est_dpltesm monitorxmXNUMXprm monitor pdcm xsave lahf_lm dts tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority
Thanks and regards!
As you can see, lm appears when executing the first command, then you can, and in fact you do, run a 64-bit linux. 🙂
I've been on this linux for a week. An intense week "studying" (I've read 10 consecutive posts on this page, which is very good!). I'm surprised to see that according to this my laptop supports a 64-bit kernel.
I count my life: It is a hp530 from about 6 or 8 years ago, and it has 1Gb of RAM. Resources run out quickly and I worry because it gets extremely hot. So install a Xubuntu 12.04 distro. I constantly monitor the use of the cpu and memory to know what is happening, and the only problem I have right now is that when I run videos in firefox the cpu goes to 100%. Download version 32 that's why it says when downloading ubuntu:
"If you have an older PC with less than 2GB of memory, choose the 32-bit download."
With Ubuntu 13.10 32-bit I was going to jerks (I'm afraid because of Unity), I discovered this distro and for now I'm happy.
But now I 'discover' here that I should try the 64-bit (on xubuntu of course). Is it possible that despite my only Gb of ram, the cpu works in a similar or looser way with x64? It also surprises me because I think my processor is single core. Ah! what appears to me in the terminal is exactly the same as it appears in the first comment.
Thank you very much for your work, friend!
Yes, you shouldn't have any problem, and even if you don't notice a big difference regarding the architectures and execution speed, I guarantee that your processor will 🙂
Regards!!!
Well, in the end I have tested it in a minipartition that I have made for testing. The temperature remains the same (55º - 65º). It is true that the cpu does not seem to saturate so much, with the example of youtube it is now around 30%. However, it sucks so much memory that I think I'll stick with 32 bits. Now I only have firefox open with 4 tabs and I have 2/3 of the gig of ram occupied. Thanks for the reply!
He needed to know this data. Thanks for the commands.
indira @ indira-GA-VM900M: ~ $ grep flags / proc / cpuinfo
flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl tm2 cid cx16 xtpr
you mean my pc is 64 bit? i am running the 32 bit
It's easier with the lscpu command; the second line shows whether the microprocessor supports only 32 bits (x86) or 64 bits (x86_64).
You are absolutely right as you put it, you know yourself earlier than with the previous roll
this is my result fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtespl64 cmov pat pse2 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse3 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtespl16 cmov tcm mx shc dtherm
also supports 64bit versions.
I'm a bit confused. Now I find out that my dear old laptop is 64 bits, but the kernel is i686 (that is, 32 bits).
I've always used 32-bit distros. Will performance improve if I install a 64-bit distro?
Hey, could you fix this? I have the same question
This depends on the type of software that you are going to use in the system, and the amount of RAM in the computer, as a general rule, the difference between 32 and 64 bits begins to become evident after 4 Gb of RAM, if you have less, it is almost unnoticeable, if it is more, the difference can be made evident in heavy load programs (like virtualbox or some photo or video editing program), hopefully it helps.
regards
Grep flags / proc / cpuinfo appears to me