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Can I install Ubuntu 64-bit onto my PC?

Here are my specs:

  • 2 gb ram
  • x64 processor
  • 3.2 ghz
ASCIIThenANSI
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sunny raj
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  • While this question may not be the right fit for this website, "opinion-based" seems like a strange rationale. The question can certainly be answered in an objective, verifiable (and well-cited/documented) way. – Michael Martin-Smucker Sep 25 '15 at 19:31
  • @MichaelMartin-Smucker: majority votes count here though. Not everyone votes "primarily opinion-based", but the majority did... ;-) – Fabby Sep 26 '15 at 00:36
  • @Fabby I sort of assumed as much, but I'm curious about the other reasons. It seems like the kind of question that would have an official answer, and while the question itself is... short, it seems like a fair question. The closest I can find to an answer is this, but that doesn't seem to address memory requirements for 64-bit. – Michael Martin-Smucker Sep 27 '15 at 04:29
  • I voted it a duplicate of this. – Fabby Sep 28 '15 at 17:32
  • @ASCIIThenANSI: for the future, please don't edit closed answers as they then get put back into the reopen queue and create more work for the reviewers... ;-) – Fabby Sep 28 '15 at 21:44

2 Answers2

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In theory you probably can, but it is not recommended to install 64bit Ubuntu (or other OS) on systems with significantly less than at least 4GB of RAM.

The reason is that a 64bit system stores all data in RAM as chunks of at least 64 bits wide, which is 8 bytes. This also applies if the data chunk would just need e.g. 1 or 8 bits to be saved.

On a 32bit system, all data in memory is split up into clusters of 32 bits width, which is 4 bytes. Therefore, as many applications mostly use data types with not more than 32 bits width, a 64bit system may need up to twice as much RAM as a 32bit system. Because of this, there is the 4GB rule of thumb.

The 64bit version may be slightly faster because of better processor usage, but it may also be slower because it runs oftener and more quickly out of RAM.

This thread provides more explanations about 32bit vs. 64bit.

Therefore my recommendation:
Install Ubuntu (version 14.04 LTS or 15.04) in 32bit architecture or upgrade your RAM.

In case you still get bad performance, maybe you should even consider choosing a more lightweight desktop environment like XFCE instead of Unity. Xubuntu comes with XFCE desktop by default.

Community
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Byte Commander
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  • Now finally i thinks that it's better to install ubuntu 32 bit on my pc because i have only ram of 2 GB so its better to not install 64 bit.. 64 bit takes maximum memory – sunny raj Sep 25 '15 at 11:41
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    Lubuntu is also a nice lightweight option. – Sarima Sep 25 '15 at 15:23
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Short and simple answer: Yes you can!

64-bit has a better CPU performance but 32-bit uses less RAM.

So it really depends what people do with their machines to decide which one is better.

cl-netbox
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