Shockingly the only reason why i gave Ubuntu that much was cause i was also a n00b at the time i ventured into Linux. I gave myself that much space cause i really didnt know how much space thigns were gonna take up. I wanted to be prepared.
Funny thing is that there is only just over 3GB used on this partition. That is why i am going to shrink it down and add that space to my Vista partition. I ahve jsut over 20 applicaitons installed that i use constantly. Takes some getting used to with Linux known which app does what and how to work them.
Honestly i dont see any gain in 64 Bit right now. There are some great things about it but truth be told even Apple and M$ are having coding issues for 64 Bit so i dont think that Linux, even with its wide group of contributors, have gotten further in the 64 Bit developement than the big guns.
The only thing i can suggest is to try out the x86 and see if you like it. Then move on to the x64 if you really want to try it out. Or start with the x64 and tehn if you like it stay with it or go to the x86 version.
As for the vieo card i cant comment. I use a 6800 and it runs great with the nvidia restricted drivers i have running wiht it.