In order to run a 64-bit program, your operating system must be 64-bit. This is because 64-bit applications include 64-bit instructions that will not be recognized by a 32-bit processor. So how does 32-bit or 64-bit hardware affect software? Generally speaking, 32-bit programs can run on a 64-bit system, but 64-bit programs will not run on a 32-bit system. They also support 64-bit instructions and have 64-bit data paths, which enables them to process more data at once than 32-bit systems can.

For example, 64-bit systems run more efficiently since memory blocks are more easily allocated. While 64 bits is far more storage than what modern computers require, it removes all bottlenecks associated with 32-bit systems. Otherwise, at least 12 GB of the memory will be inaccessible by the CPU. If a computer has 16 GB of RAM, it better have a 64-bit processor. What's important is that a 64-bit computer (which means it has a 64-bit processor) can access more than 4 GB of RAM. This is several million times more than an average workstation would need to access. The actual limit is often less – around 3.5 gigabytes – since part of the registry is used to store other temporary values besides memory addresses.Ī 64-bit register can theoretically reference 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 bytes, or 17,179,869,184 gigabytes (16 exabytes) of memory. One bit in the register can reference an individual byte in memory, so a 32-bit system can address a maximum of 4 gigabytes (4,294,967,296 bytes) of RAM. The CPU register stores memory addresses, which is how the processor accesses data from RAM. That's a big difference, but how does it affect computing performance?

Therefore, a 64-bit register is not twice as large as a 32-bit register, but is 4,294,967,296 times larger. A 32-bit processor includes a 32-bit register, which can store 2 32 or 4,294,967,296 values. Hardwareģ2-bit and 64-bit are commonly used to describe processor architecture or design. However, when determining what software to install on your computer, it is helpful to understand what the terms actually mean. Do they refer to hardware or software specifications? What makes a system 64-bit and what is the difference between a 64-bit computer and a 32-bit model? In most cases, you simply need to know if your operating system is 32-bit or 64-bit in order to run a certain program. The terms '32-bit' and '64-bit' are commonly seen in system requirements and other technical literature, but few people actually know what these terms mean.

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