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Mageia is available in both 32 and 64 bit architectures. When installing from the Dual-Arch image, you must select which architecture to use for your installed system. The choice is based on the relationship between hardware and usage, according to:

  • The processor
  • The available RAM (memory)
  • The maximum size of a single process.

The 64 bit processors have been in production for a long time (see Wikipedia), so your computer probably uses a 64 bit processor that can run either a 32 or 64 bit system.

Some computers are 32 bit and cannot run anything compiled for a 64 bit system.

Should you always install 64 bit systems on 64 bit hardware?

The answer is no, not always.

The 64 bit systems provide packages take up more disk space than their 32 bit counterparts, as well as binaries and libraries that consume more RAM when loaded. The fewer resources (disk storage and/or memory) the computer has, the more likely heavy usage will exhaust them. Once all of memory is used, the system will start swapping it out to disk storage, which slows everything down dramatically. Running out of disk storage can result in a system crash and possible loss of valuable data. But, if there's enough available disk space and memory to handle your normal usage, you can enjoy the speed and power of the 64 bit processor.

Don't believe the myth that 32 bit Linux can only access 4GB of memory, even if your system has more. A 32 bit system can use up to 64GB of memory, but a single process is limited to just under 4GB RAM. In very few cases, usually involving servers, will a process require more than that.

Using a 64 bit Linux system sometimes requires that both the 32 and 64 bit versions of the same packages be installed, as well as all of the confusion of having both available.

So, unless you have, or plan to have, a lot of RAM and want to be able to run:

  • Processes with very large in-memory caches (Like squid and/or databases for example)
  • Virtual machines (VMs) that use 4GB or more of RAM
  • VMs of 64-bit operating systems

Then, as long as a 32 bit system is serving your needs and you're happy with it, there is no compelling reason not to stick with it.

Furthermore, if you're stuck with 2GB or less of RAM, 64-bit will work against you by using more of your limited resources.