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could anyone briefly tell the difference among fedora i386 i686, x86_64 and ppc?

is ppc for mac only?
i386 and i686 for 32 bit and x86_64 is for 64 bit os???

I did a quick search on google and didn't find good source sites, if any please share. thanks very much.

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Good, clear summary from — a few practical clarifications and tips that make the choice concrete when you install a distro.

Most distro builds target which CPU features they assume. If a build targets i686 it may assume newer instructions (CMOV, SSE family) and will run faster on modern 32-bit chips; i386 builds keep compatibility with very old 386/486/Pentium machines. x86_64 (AMD64/Intel64) gives you 64-bit pointers, larger registers and access to >4 GB RAM. Use a PowerPC (ppc) build only for true PowerPC hardware (older Macs, some embedded or server systems).

Quick checks you can run on Linux to see what your machine supports:

uname -m
lscpu
grep -m1 '^flags' /proc/cpuinfo
  • uname -m shows the running kernel architecture (e.g. x86_64 or i686).
  • lscpu lists supported CPU modes (32-bit, 64-bit).
  • the flags line shows features like lm (long mode = 64-bit) and pae.

Practical rules: if the CPU supports 64-bit and you want modern performance or more RAM, pick x86_64. If you need a 32-bit OS (for legacy apps) choose a distro built for i686 rather than the old i386 unless your machine is truly ancient. Watch distro docs for labels like i686-pae or multilib/compat packages (most x86_64 distros provide 32-bit libraries). For PowerPC hardware pick the appropriate ppc or ppc64/ppc64le image as the vendor/CPU requires.

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Member Avatar for John A

i386 was the first x86 32 bit processor. What this means is that it'll run on practically any x86 CPU made within the last 22 years, but seeing that the architecture was designed so long ago, it's reasonable to expect that any operating system compiled for it isn't going to be running at optimal speed on today's latest and greatest processors.

i686 on the other hand is a much more modern architecture. It includes practically every processor that's Pentium II or better. x86_64 is a 64 bit extension to the x86 architecture. x86_64 processors can still run 32 bit operating systems (e.g. i386) if you so choose, but they're also capable of running 64 bit operating systems.

PowerPC (PPC) is the processor type that Macs used to use, but within the last few years Macs have also transitioned over to x86. Nowadays, PowerPC's main use is seen in modern game consoles.

So, to answer your question... if you have a 64 bit processor, you should get either an x86_64 or i686 optimized distro. If not, you should just get i686 (assuming of course that your computer isn't older than 10 years).

commented: good shyt +16
Member Avatar for k2k

very helpful.. thanks

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