On Mon, 2010-05-24 at 17:05 +0200, Nicky726 wrote: > I have experimentally found out, that 64 bit Linux distro uses like 40 -- 80 % > more of RAM than 32 bit. Now it seemed to be both aplication and distro > dependant, with Arch being on the better side. Though I've got to say again, it > was not a benchmark, just my personal experiment. > > As for me, if I had a machine with plenty RAM (that is from my perspective > ~GB), than I would choose 64 bit. If I had like 1 -- 2 GB, than I would > definitely go 32 bit. > > Hope I did understand your question right. Depending on the software you run, programs can take more memory due to larger integers and pointer sizes. If memory usage is a problem, go for a 64bit kernel with 32bit userland. Memory allocation above 896MB is much more efficient on 64bit kernels because you don't have to use the "highmem" method to access that.
