64 or 32 bit for old Netbook?

Support & Help Requests
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#1

Hi all,

I just dug an old Gateway Netbook out of the garage, upon which I intend to install UM 17.10 Beta so that I may experience the power of the fully operational HUD. According to the stickers on this thing it originally shipped with Win 7 Starter. It has a whopping 2 GB RAM. I’m sure it will run with the 64 bit OS but I’m not clear on the performance trade offs of 32 vs 64 bit in this situation. Any suggestions from the resident UM gurus much appreciated.

Specs from inxi follow:

ubuntu-mate@ubuntu-mate:~$ inxi
CPU~Dual core Intel Atom N570 (-HT-MCP-) speed/max~1000/1666 MHz Kernel~4.12.0-11-generic x86_64 Up~1:15 Mem~770.4/1985.2MB HDD~266.1GB(0.8% used) Procs~182 Client~Shell inxi~2.3.34
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8101/2/6E PCIE Fast/Gigabit Ethernet controller
           driver: r8169
           Card-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
           driver: ath9k
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 266.1GB (0.8% used)
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#2

I personally would use 64-bit because it gets a lot more testing these days.

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#3

I’d say 64bit too. I have a similar netbook (an MSI U180, atom N2600 and 1 gig of ram) that feels snappy and responsive with any reasonably light 64 bit system. It currently has lubuntu 16.04 on it, but it’s just fine with Ubuntu MATE 64bit.

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#4

OK 64 it is. Thanks for the timely help folks.

#5

Although do bear in mind 64-bit does demand more RAM (naturally), so I would’ve leaned towards 32-bit for a 2 GB netbook, based from past experience with an Dell Inspiron Duo (Intel Atom) where 32-bit felt like it had more breathing room then 64-bit.

i386 support may well be on its way out for Ubuntu, but it’s still supported for at least a few more years (with LTS releases)

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#6

Well I’ve installed the 64 bit and it’s usable, but starts lagging pretty badly after you get about three tabs open in Firefox. I’ll just install the 32 bit now and see how they compare. Thanks for the input.

P.S. Love the HUD!

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#7

Just to close the loop here… I compared 32 and 64 bit and found the 32 bit to be noticeably slower when trying to load the same four sites at once into different FF tabs (super scientific, I know). The 32 bit used less RAM but lots more CPU. Truth is it’s a dog either way. I might actually have to build a better box from my scrap pile.

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#8

@Sleepygeek I have a Acer Netbook which has similar specifications as the one you dug out of the garage. As you have already seen Ubuntu Mate is a bit much for a netbook of this caliber. I currently have Xubuntu 32 bit installed on the Acer Netbook and it runs better than Windows 7 did. Lubuntu would be another good choice. You could also install Ubuntu server, add a external hard drive, and use it as a home server.

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#9

Thanks for the good ideas steven. I do recall Win 7 being worthless on this thing, which I’m sure led to its exile. Now that it’s usable it’s just too cute not to employ somehow. If only it had Bluetooth it would be a perfect little end-table music player.

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#10

Isn’t there software that can help with the issue of low memory in exchange for some storage space? Surely, this is where stuff like zram comes in handy?

#11

For that kind of purpose I would suggest you get intimate with the terminal and learn how to set up everything through it so you can scrap using a DE entirely and use Ubuntu Server instead. Throw in links2 if you want to do some light web browsing, finch for some online chatting (if you can work around its limitations as of present), zsh if you want to dress up your shell and fbterm to use a frame buffer terminal (which would work well with everything else) and you’d be set for general-purpose computing with cvlc playing whatever from a networked library.

…provided you want a fast experience that sacrifices use of any desktop environment. If you need one so badly I would suggest building FLTK or installing Xubuntu.

#12

If I had an old netbook like that I’d try an even lighter flavor like Lubuntu. Should run Emacs and do light coding and writing just fine. :slight_smile: Even low-spec computers can be useful!

Or you could just go CLI only like tiox suggests, lol. XD

#13

Thanks folks, but I’ve done plenty of the CLI only thing, mostly installing and maintaining Debian firewall/VPN boxes. I’m totally over it :slight_smile: Lubuntu looks like a possibility, but for now I’ll just use my little netbook to follow along on UM 17.10 beta. It’s good enough.

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#14

Tell me that when Artful or B uses LXQT.