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:

ISO: http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/stable/5/LinuxMint-5-x64.iso

Size: 682MB LiveCD

MD5Sum: 7214fd84080d753d0ba7d4c70abceede

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:

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: