[ale] 64-bit vs 32-bit?

[Robert]

>The only plus that I have seen it that I can run >4GB RAM. Since I use my
>machine for editing and mastering audio I find that to be valuable. 

I do photo processing. When I had 4gb of ram, I often had to quit my RAW
conversion software to free up memory to run the GIMP. I recently upgraded to
8gb, and am still running a 32 bit kernel. Now both apps can use up to 3.5gb
of ram each and I can leave them both running. Yay!

So, in response to the original poster: I think that unless you *know* you need
more than 4gb of ram for a single app/process, you should be fine with a 32 bit
kernel, even if you have more than 4gb of ram.

-- 
Arguing with an Engineer is like wrestling a pig in mud.
After a while you realize the pig is enjoying it.