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Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 13:03:33 +0200
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From: Harald Servat <redcrash@gmail.com>
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Subject: some questions about 32 bit / 64 bit
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Hello everybody,

  I have a laptop with a Centrino 2 Duo processor with 4GB of RAM and a dual
VGA (one integrated in the mobo and an ATI Radeon). Now it uses the ATI
Radeon, but if I set it to use the integrated VGA, the total free RAM drops
to 3.X GB. I understand that this is due to sharing memory with the VGA.

  My first issue is, I'm currently working with Linux and I'm planning to
switch to FreeBSD 7.1, but I don't know if switch to 32 or 64 bit (i.e.,
i386 or amd64). If I switch to the 32 bit version, which is the memory limit
of a single user process? Will the entire system (kernel + user processes)
be able to use the whole 4GB (or 3.XGB, if I switch to the integrated VGA)?
  Please note, avoid a war between 32bit vs 64bit benefits/cons.

  The second issue is about ports, if I install the 64 bit version I would
need some libraries in 32 bit mode too. Is the ports system adapted to
control these two different ABIs? If not, how do you manage this? Maybe
installing FreeBSD twice (one for x86 and another for amd64)?

Thank you.
-- 
_________________________________________________________________
Empty your memory,
with a free()...
like a pointer!

If you cast a pointer to an integer,
it becomes an integer,
if you cast a pointer to a struct,
it becomes a struct.

The pointer can crash...,
and can overflow.

Be a pointer my friend...