With more and more users switching to 64-bit computing to exploit the CPU’s full potential, the amd64 architecture has given a new dimension to day to day computing. 64-bit computing was used in supercomputers in 1960s and servers since early 1990s. Any 64-bit processor can emulate a 32-bit architecture. They not only address more memory but perform much better in cases of intensive computing, virtualization and gaming.
Personally with an OS of amd64 architecture, I always have Windows running on a virtualbox on a separate workspace while I work smoothly on the main one. I must say that I could do this with i386 also, though this seems to add up to my performance. Ubuntu amd64 has almost all associated packages available now. I must say that I’m in love with amd64!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit
Ubuntu 64-Bit usergroup:
Launchpad: https://launchpad.net/~64-bit
Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/64BitTeam
Forums: http://ubuntuforums.org/group.php?groupid=258
IRC: #ubuntu-64-bit on channel irc.freenode.net
