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Linux Mint is proud to announce that Linux Mint 5 Elyssa is now available on AMD64 for 64 bit processors.

In the future the x64 edition will be released at the same time as the Main and Light editions.

The purpose of the x64 edition is to offer the same desktop features as the Main edition but in a 64 bit environment. It aims to be as similar to the Main edition as possible. Due to the nature of its architecture, its package base and its origins it defers in the following ways:

  • Linux Mint x64 Edition was forked from Ubuntu Hardy as opposed to Ubuntu Edgy for the Main Edition,
  • Linux Mint x64 Edition comes with a java plugin implemented by OpenJDK, as opposed to Sun for the Main Edition.
  • Linux Mint x64 Edition comes with Xchat instead of Xchat-Gnome
  • Linux Mint x64 Edition comes with Flash 9 instead of Flash 10

More packages are available for i386 than they are for amd64 and the Main edition is also slightly more stable than its 64 bit equivalent. The Main edition only recognizes a maximum of 4GB RAM though and even on computers with less than 4GB RAM the performance gain provided by x64 over the Main edition can significantly enhance the user’s experience.

Introduction to the x64 edition:

We published a mini-benchmark and an introduction to the x64 edition within the release notes. To have a better idea of what x64 can do for you, please read http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_elyssa_x64.php

System requirements:

A minimum of 512MB of RAM is recommended. Once installed the system works fine with as low as 256MB RAM. The installation process deals with 2.5GB of data compressed on a 700MB CD and it can hang or fail on systems with less than 512MB RAM. If you have between 256MB and 512MB RAM you may have to try to install several times.

Download Linux Mint 5 x64:

Europe:

Northern America:

Rest of the World:

Order Linux Mint 5 x64 on CD:

You can order Linux Mint 5 x64 on CD from our partner on-disk.com:
http://on-disk.com/product_info.php/cPath/28_153_240/products_id/519

Tell us what you think:

  • Depending on your hardware x64 Edition could potentially be faster and show better performance than the Main edition. We’re interested to know how both editions compare so don’t hesitate to measure your boot time, and common scenarios and compare them on the same computer with the Main edition. Contact us by email and send us your benchmarks and your conclusions.
  • Tell us what you think and give us feedback on this release by commenting here on this blog.

Changes since x64 RC1:

If you’re currently running Linux Mint 5 x64 RC1 you do not need to upgrade to the stable release. Compared to RC1, the stable release fixes two minor bugs:

  • The medibuntu repositories were defined in both /etc/apt/sources.list and /etc/apt/sources.list.d
  • The default Samba workgroup name in /etc/samba/smb.conf was “WORKGROUP” instead of “MSHOME”

by ·61 Comments

Linux Mint is proud to announce its very first 64 bits release: Elyssa x64 RC1.

The purpose of the x64 edition is to offer the same desktop features as the Main edition but in a 64 bits environment. We received a lot of requests to support the X86_64 architecture (commonly referred to as “amd64”) and we’ve managed to come with an edition which is almost 100% in par with our main desktop.

As an RC (Release Candidate) this release is targeted at developers and beta-testers who want to help Linux Mint find and correct bugs before the stable release. Please do not use this release as your main desktop.

The x64 Edition aims to be as similar to the Main edition as possible, but due to the nature of its architecture, its package base and its origins it defers in the following ways:

  • Linux Mint x64 Edition was forked from Ubuntu Hardy as opposed to Ubuntu Edgy for the Main Edition,
  • Linux Mint x64 Edition comes with a java plugin implemented by OpenJDK, as opposed to Sun for the Main Edition.
  • Linux Mint x64 Edition comes with Xchat instead of Xchat-Gnome
  • Linux Mint x64 Edition comes with Flash 9 instead of Flash 10

More packages are available for i386 than they are for amd64 and we also believe the Main edition to be a bit more stable than will in time be its 64 bits equivalent. The Main edition only recognizes RAM to a maximum of 4GB though and even on computers with less than 4GB RAM the performance gain provided by x64 over the Main edition can significantly enhance the user’s experience.

Introduction to the x64 edition:

We published a mini-benchmark and an introduction to the x64 edition within the release notes. To have a better idea of what x64 can do for you, please read http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_elyssa_x64.php

System requirements:

A minimum of 512MB of RAM is recommended. Once installed the system works fine with as low as 256MB RAM. The installation process deals with 2.5GB of data compressed on a 700MB CD and it can hang or fail on systems with less than 512MB RAM. If you have between 256MB and 512MB RAM you may have to try to install several times.

Download x64 RC1:

Size: 682MB LiveCD
MD5Sum: 65a436f5ee945abceae18e5393d34213
Torrent download: http://www.linuxmint.de/downloads.html
HTTP download: http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=30

Europe:

Northern America:

Rest of the World:

Test x64 RC1, report bugs and feedback:

The purpose of this Release Candidate is to gather as much feedback and bug reports as possible before the final release.

  • Depending on your hardware x64 Edition could potentially be faster and show better performance than the Main edition. We’re interested to know how both editions compare so don’t hesitate to measure your boot time, and common scenarios and compare them on the same computer with the Main edition. Contact us by email and send us your benchmarks and your conclusions.
  • Participate in testing the Release Candidate CD. If you find bugs please report them here: http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=143&t=17276
  • Tell us what you think and give us feedback on this release by commenting here on this blog.