2

I've been using 12.04 for a few months now, but today I began thinking about re-installing Ubuntu, and now I'm a bit confused.

What should I Choose?

  1. Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10
  2. 32 bit or 64 bit

I want to get maximum output from the resources available on my laptop:

  • core i3
  • 4Gb RAM
  • 640GB HDD

My main priority is speed! Using an LTS isn't too important, as I usually change my OS every few months.

Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  • 105,154
  • 20
  • 279
  • 497
Yousaf Ehsan
  • 523

6 Answers6

5

Since you have an Intel i3 CPU and 4GB RAM I recommend going with a 64bit version of Ubuntu in order to use that RAM well(I haven't been impressed by 32bit PAE on my system running 4gb of RAM).

As for the version of Ubuntu you should use, I recommend 12.04. It has a longer support window and is far more stable. Only get 12.10 if you really want the latest features and don't care about a far shorter support window. Also 13.04 will be out next month so you might as well wait if you want the latest version of Ubuntu.

japzone
  • 1,283
  • thats a good news i should wait instead ? or in mean time i should try 12.10 and next month will install a new clean 13.04 with all fuller features.. Now thats a good news i love new releases lol thanks – Yousaf Ehsan Mar 26 '13 at 01:18
  • @YousafEhsan I'd recommend just waiting for 13.04 to come out. Reinstalling the OS every couple of Months is one thing, but reinstalling within 3 weeks of each other isn't worth it. – japzone Mar 26 '13 at 01:21
  • can you tell me if 13.04 is LTS ? – Yousaf Ehsan Mar 26 '13 at 01:24
  • 1
    @YousafEhsan No it's not LTS. Next LTS is 14.04(April 2014), which is supposed to a big one since it's supposed to mark the convergence for Ubuntu for PC, Phone, and Tablet, As well as a bunch of other major changes. – japzone Mar 26 '13 at 01:31
  • You need not install 13.04 if you install 12.10 now. You can just upgrade. – green Mar 27 '13 at 16:19
  • @green7 Why go through the annoyance of upgrading when you can just wait a couple weeks and start completely fresh. Upgrading always introduces issues even if they're just minor ones. – japzone Mar 27 '13 at 17:57
  • Well, yes, but in case you just can't wait.. – green Mar 27 '13 at 19:35
2

I would still go for 12.04 as it uses less resourses if the main thing is speed. If the latest and greatest is important for you then go for 12.10 which does use more resources from 12.04.

Goku
  • 101
  • latest is not greatest i want speed so what do you recommend 12.04 64 bit to get fully out of my pc ? – Yousaf Ehsan Mar 26 '13 at 01:10
  • No I would reccomend 32 bit unless you plan on upgrading ram because 32 bit uses less resources and you can use all 4gb of ram! – Goku Mar 26 '13 at 01:12
  • hmmmmm confused i am not caring of ram i am caring of my data traveling speed through my buses ? – Yousaf Ehsan Mar 26 '13 at 01:16
  • 1
    So sorry then yes 64 bit will be better as it can send speeds at 64 bit per second sorry for the confusion – Goku Mar 26 '13 at 01:22
2

depends on what you need to do with your computer. if you wanna speed, they are both fast, i beleive 12.04 is little faster. than if you wanna use it as windows (for fun and that kind of stuffs) use 12.10, but if you want it for training, working with codes, with system tweaking in generaly use 12.04. than, 32 or 64bit, it depends on your computer, i beleive you need 64 as specification tells me that is not old computer, and that new usually have 64bit complability.

Dimitris Theodoridis
  • 326
  • yes its 64 so i should go with 64 ? i am networking student and i love tweaking apps and my system with alot of patches and stuff and testing like things so maybe i should go for 12.04 ? – Yousaf Ehsan Mar 26 '13 at 01:15
  • you really need 12.04 than. can we be in contact as you are student, i am not student but i love to learn computer things, and dont have oportunity for going in school for that? – Dimitris Theodoridis Mar 26 '13 at 01:18
  • really i will be happy to be in contact with computer geeks :) – Yousaf Ehsan Mar 26 '13 at 01:20
  • you can add me here http://www.facebook.com/dimitris.theodoridis.mono.olympiakos?ref=tn_tnmn but i am not big geek still but will be ;) and yes, if your computer is 64bit if you install 32bit you can cause to you problem beacause 32bit coded system is for 32bit coded computer in assembly so 32bit ( 0 and 1) is not same as 64bit code of 0 and 1. – Dimitris Theodoridis Mar 26 '13 at 01:24
2

x64 isn't strictly necessary if you don't have more than 4GB of memory. There are still decent reasons not to use it (legacy compatibility, memory usage).

I don't find 12.10 to be much more stable or full-featured than 12.04. 13.04 is a bit better in that department; I'd wait for that and then just keep on the upgrade pipeline from there. 12.04 LTS is a very good release if you care at all about LTS, though.

serilain
  • 508
1

as you mentioned, you have good resources in your hardware so you can install x64. but about 12.04 or 12.10, you can find out the deference between 12.04.xx and 12.10 here i suggest to install 12.04 because of it's LTS. but if you decide to install 12.10, it is better to wait some days for coming 13.04.

shgnInc
  • 4,003
1

I think you're a little bit like me, always want to try the newest software. I understand you quite well. But which version you should choose depends on your purpose. If you are a serious Linux user for working or programming purpose, I think 12.04 LTS is better. Its features are definitely enough for learning and working, and it's LTS. But if you merely use it for fun and entertainment, then I would suggest you follow your heart, install 12.10 and 13.04 about one month later.

As with 32bit or 64bit issue, I think it's similar to LTS vs newest. Your memory is no more than 4GB, so 32bit doesn't put a significant contrain on it. Generally speaking, the most important reason people should choose 64bit is the memory is over 4GB. 64bit is not faster on everything, it's task-specific. In fact, many programmes running on a 64bit computer is infact 32bit, such as Firefox. In windows 7, both 32bit and 64 bit IE are provided by Microsoft, but what's in the taskbar as the default one is the 32bit version. Considering the possible compatiblity issue, 32bit is more robust and sometimes maybe preferred for serious work. But again, I think 64bit may be better for you.

duleshi
  • 181
  • yea i want latest one but currently i am using LTS and i know what does it means forme LTS and dont know i m not really happy to install 12.10 but the features still attract me. BUT for 64 or 32 bit i am really sure i must install 64 bit cz to get full pottential out of my system 64 bit is important ? the question was are there really big compatibility issues on 64 ? – Yousaf Ehsan Mar 27 '13 at 16:44
  • 1
    I'm using 32bit Ubuntu, So I can't promise you anything. But I do use a 64bit Win7 as my main OS for a long time, and have never encountered any compatibility issue by now. Some distros encourage using 64bit version, such as Fedora. So I think the chance of incompatible is really very rare for common users. – duleshi Mar 28 '13 at 01:25