64-Bit vs 32-Bit Platform

[ak17_hk]

If I'm to setup a server for web + mail + mysql + php + etc...
Should I install CentOS x64 version or i386 version? Which is better?
What I'm looking for is performance + stability + compatibility...

I know that i386 version must provide better compatibility, but x64 version provides higher performance, how should I choose?
My server has the following configurations:

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (1.86GHz) CPU/2MB BOX
- GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 I965G M/B
- Super Talent DDR-2 667MHZ 1G Ram
- Seagate 250GB ST3250624NS NL35 SATA II/16MB
- Seagate 320GB ST3320620AS SATA II/16MB HDD
- LITEON 16X DVD Rom Drive
- SPI 400W ATX400PN ATX 20+4Pin Power Supply

Thanks for any advice!

 

[eymbo]

I think you'd want to stick with i386 (32bit) instead of 64bit. Although the term 64bit might sound more exotict than 32bit there really isn't that much difference unless the program you're wanting to one is programmed for it (eg MySQL uses 64bit registars so it performs a tad quicker if your server is MySQL dominant). I'd stay with 32bit because most programs which are needed to tweak and monitor a system and many other utilities aren't stable on 64bit systems and will cause a much bigger headache afterwards.

PS I've used 64bit servers before, speaking from experience here

 

[nobaloney]

PS I've used 64bit servers before, speaking from experience here

Then please give us some examples instead of just badmouthing 64-bit servers in general.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[eymbo]

I wouldn't call it bad mouthing. I did give you reasons to use 64bit and that was because you'd see a performance increase. There are however benchmarks (which you can Google) available which doesn't give any performance increases with Apache and PHP. I'm touching on these as these are normally the basics of a web server.