Ubuntu64 Stability + Many Questions

[rspassey]

I have used Ubuntu 32 bit version on an older PC for a little while. That ended when I installed Smoothwall on that PC, and since then I have been using Windows XP on my computer in my sig. I have a spare 300 GB HDD installed and have been debating installing Ubuntu again so I can further learn more about Linux, possible improve my skills with alternate OS's (could prove helpful in the future), and because I enjoyed working with Ubuntu for the short time I had used it.

I have a few questions regarding the 64 bit version :
--- Is it as stable as the 32 bit version with AMD 64 CPUs?
--- Is there equal driver support for Ubuntu64 as it's 32 bit version has?
--- Will I be able to run applications which are only 32 bit? - or is it like x64

I also have a few questions regarding drivers which I hope someone could help me with :
--- I have heard Linux SLI drivers are horrible in comparison to Windows SLI drivers. While benchmarking proves this to be true, does anyone know if newer more improved SLI drivers are going to be released for Linux? Or is this something I shouldn't worry about, and just continue to game with Windows XP?
--- Has Creative released X-FI drivers for Linux? If so, I can't seem to find them, and honestly, if I don't get to listen to my music while fiddling around with Linux, I don't think I will enjoy it as much.

And finally I would like some recommendations for software to use after installing Unbuntu (at this moment I am leaning toward the 32 bit version).
--- I use Open Office now with Windows, I assume I will continue using that.
--- A media player? Possibly one which also comes with most of the codecs required to listen / rip media files.
--- Browser; Firefox like I use now.
--- Messenger Client? Perhaps something similar to Trillian. I can't remember if one comes packaged or not.


Any help will be highly appreciated. I have still 2 more weeks before school starts, so I have plenty of time to fiddle around.

Thanks In Advance,
Ryan124712

[flawedreality5]

I downloaded the Live cd 64 bit version and it was terrible. I think it detected my motherboard chipset but that was it! When I went under the device manager, it didn't know my processor, graphics card, nothing. So I threw the cd away. It screwed up a couple of my router settings when I tried to connect to the internet too. I went back under Windows and it couldn't connect then either. It does come with GAIM, but I didn't get it working cause I couldn't get connected.

[faulkner132]

I have a few questions regarding the 64 bit version :
--- Is it as stable as the 32 bit version with AMD 64 CPUs?
--- Is there equal driver support for Ubuntu64 as it's 32 bit version has?
--- Will I be able to run applications which are only 32 bit? - or is it like x64
Stick with the 32 bit version, I don't think the 64 bit release is officially supported.

I also have a few questions regarding drivers which I hope someone could help me with :
--- I have heard Linux SLI drivers are horrible in comparison to Windows SLI drivers. While benchmarking proves this to be true, does anyone know if newer more improved SLI drivers are going to be released for Linux? Or is this something I shouldn't worry about, and just continue to game with Windows XP?
If you want to game, don't use Linux. I know there are drivers available for the current nVidea/ATI cards, but for bleeding edge support, Windows is going to be a step head. 3D acceleration and DVD playback works fine on my machine, but all I have an nVidea nForce4 which is built in to the motherboard.

--- Has Creative released X-FI drivers for Linux? If so, I can't seem to find them, and honestly, if I don't get to listen to my music while fiddling around with Linux, I don't think I will enjoy it as much.
Check Creative's site for specific drivers... the ALSA drivers will probably work fine though.

And finally I would like some recommendations for software to use after installing Unbuntu (at this moment I am leaning toward the 32 bit version).
--- I use Open Office now with Windows, I assume I will continue using that.
--- A media player? Possibly one which also comes with most of the codecs required to listen / rip media files.
--- Browser; Firefox like I use now.
--- Messenger Client? Perhaps something similar to Trillian. I can't remember if one comes packaged or not.
Don't know about the messenger client, I don't use one, but for media players I just use Totem and Amarok. Totem plays pretty much any file format and Amarok is a very nice music library program. Everything else, I would stick with.

[rspassey]

Great, thanks for all your help. It looks like I am going to stick with the 32 bit version. I will still be keeping XP on one HDD, so I can just continue gaming with that. I will check creative's site after I do the install, there is probably some reading up I will have to do to understand how to properly load drivers and stuff. And thanks for the suggestions on media players, I really appreciate it.

[faulkner132]

Anytime. Immediately after installing Ubuntu, be sure to install and run Automatix... it will save you a lot of headaches.

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=66563

It will also install the latest nVidea drivers for you (assuming that is what you are using since you mentioned SLI).
Enjoy.

[rspassey]

Wowzers, that certainly looks amazing. Thanks for the advice, I will certainly install and use that.

I find it weird though that I will have to manually uninstall some of those applications, such as the file sharing applications.

I also heard some good stuff about The GIMP for photo editing. I think I will give it a spin too.

I just initiated the download for Ubuntu, it will finish soon, but this might be a project I will tackle tomorrow (with fear that if I start tonight, I will never end up sleeping).

PS: I am thinking about maybe making an Ubuntu Notebook kind of thing and write into it all the things I start to learn about it incase I need to check them for reference. (took years to get to where I am with Windows to be able to do what I know how to do and I hope this idea will make adapting to Linux quicker) I assume the Ubuntu forums would be the best place to start when I run into issues - or is there another community which offers better support?

Thanks again.

[faulkner132]

Definitely the best resource is:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/

Also check out:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/

Pretty much anything you need can be found on one of those two sites.

[rspassey]

Okay, One last question:

-- When installing, would it be best to disconnect my XP drive to assure I don't overwrite it accidentally?
I am under the impression that Ubuntu / Windows will create an OS selection menu, so when I boot up I can choose between the two, but will this happen even if I disconnect my Windows one?

[flawedreality5]

I'm pretty sure you'll need it installed so Linux knows to use one of its bootloaders. I always used the Grub bootloader to choose between Linux and Windows

[faulkner132]

Okay, One last question:

-- When installing, would it be best to disconnect my XP drive to assure I don't overwrite it accidentally?
I am under the impression that Ubuntu / Windows will create an OS selection menu, so when I boot up I can choose between the two, but will this happen even if I disconnect my Windows one?
You can leave it connected... Ubuntu is Windows friendly... it will automatically configure GRUB to dual boot.