On Sat, 2008-03-01 at 09:52 -0600, Mike Chambers wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Ok, am new to using the 64bit systems and this is my first one. I
> finally got my dual boot all setup and Fedora 8 initially installed with
> updates applied as of this morning. So far basically no problems, and
> running fine AFAICT. But some issues, comments, or questions I have to
> help better understand how to run my system.
>
> 1 - Noticed i386 packages (some, not all) installed along with the 64
> bit ones. Is there an rpm/yum command to list the i386, and possibly
> then remove the ones I def don't need that the system will allow? Are
> there some of these that I *have* to have, depending on what I use the
> program for? I have seperate test/updates/rawhide dir's that I mirror,
> and notice in the 64 bit ones, that there are i386 packages, as I guess
> those are needed depended on if i386 is what is needed to go along with
> the 64 bit ones?
>
> 2 - This may be part of my question to 1 above, but are firefox and
> evolution i386 packages needed? I installed the flash-plugin but think
> I have seen talk bout only for i386 and that is why firefox-i386 is
> needed?
>
> 3 - My system is an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 3600+ (2.0G cpu
> speed each one I think). What kernel does this need to be using for
> best results?
>
> 4 - I only use the system for home use, email, internet, occasional
> packaging (not much, just edit or repackage), that type thing. Do I
> *really* have to worry bout using 64 bit installs , or can i386 work
> just fine and not have to worry about separate dir's and packages
> mixing? Will my system/kernel still run just as fast or whatever with
> i386 or is it even running that much (if at all) faster now with 64 bit?
>
> Hope this isn't too many questions, just trying to understand what my
> system is capable of doing. Thanks for your time.
----
Probably the easiest way is to first make sure you have a .rpmmacros
file (in at least root's home directory, also any users that you
routinely use to solve dep issues) ... in that file, put this line:
%_query_all_fmt %%{name}-%%{version}-%%{release}.%%{arch}
That will make all rpm queries show you the $ARCH of the RPMS ...
as for your specific questions...
1. I think is already answered
2. Firefox/Evolution i386 - perhaps not needed. Some things are
difficult to do with Firefox-x86_64...specifically getting java applets
to run. IcedTea is getting close but is still imperfect. I have heard
reports of getting Blackdown's 64 bit version of Java and their plugin
to work with Firefox but I don't recall seeing anyone suggest that they
can get Sun's jre/jdk 1.6.003 plugin to work in 64 bit Firefox.
nspluginviewer is your friend - be sure to run it anytime you add 32 bit
plugins (flash/acroread)
3. Don't know...I presume the standard x86_64
4. I don't know that 64 bit is all that much faster. I have been forced
to use it by some of the lower end Dell Optiplex systems that just don't
run well on i386. You definitely benefit if you have over 3 Gb of RAM.
For the most part, it shouldn't make that much of a difference.
Craig
