How to find out the bitness of the operating system and processor in Windows. Determining the processor bit depth How to find out a 64-bit processor

There are two types of processors: 32-bit and 64-bit. These numbers indicate the processor bit depth. Which version you use will depend on what processor you are using. operating system use, how to choose programs and games, how much RAM you can install on your computer. You can also come across the designation x86, which is often mistakenly mistaken for a separate processor bit size. But first of all, let's determine what type of operating system is installed on your computer.

How to find out the bitness of installed Windows

There are several ways to find out how many bits your Windows operating system uses. Look for x32 or x64 as these are the main indicators of the system's bit capacity, while x86 can refer to either a single-core or dual-core system. First, let's look at the simplest and fastest option.

Through computer properties

Through system information

Differences and benefits of different numbers of cores

So, there are two types of processors: single-core (x32) and dual-core (x64). Sometimes you can see the designation x86 - this is not a separate type of processor, but a designation of microprocessor architecture. Most often, the x86 number indicates that the processor is single-core, but it can also be used for a 64-bit processor. Therefore, you should not rely on it; always look for the designation in x36 or x64 format.

Performance and operating speed are, accordingly, higher for 64-bit processors, since two cores work at once, rather than one. If you are using a 32-bit processor, you can install as much random access memory (RAM) as you want on your computer, but the system will only use 4 GB of the total memory. With a 64-bit processor, you can use up to 32 GB of RAM.

Performance and speed are higher for 64-bit processors, since two cores work at once, rather than one

Requirements for a 64-bit system

The main advantage of x64 processors is that they support programs, games and operating systems written not only for 64-bit processors, but also for 32-bit ones. That is, if you have an x32 processor, then you can only install a 32-bit operating system Windows system, but not 64-bit.

Which bit is better?

From all of the above, we can conclude that if you are choosing between one and two cores, then the second option is preferable, since most modern programs and games require 64 bits. It is possible that in the future the 32-bit system will be completely abandoned, since its power is not enough for anything.

How to upgrade to Windows 7 x64

If you want to increase system performance and the amount of available RAM, as well as expand the number of supported applications and games, then you need to switch to a 64-bit operating system. This can be done the only way- erase the old 32-bit system and install a new one.

Please note that all files on your computer will be irretrievably lost when performing this operation, so copy them to third-party media in advance to avoid losing anything important. So, after you begin installing the new operating system, you will be asked to select a language and confirm the start of the operation, as well as select the system version. Select the one that has x64 bit and go through the installation process.

Select the architecture type and continue the installation process

Why won't 64-bit Windows install?

If the installation is unsuccessful, it means that your processor does not support a 64-bit system and is designed only for x32. There is only one way out of this situation - to purchase new processor, which will suit your requirements.

How to determine the processor bit size

There are several ways to determine how many cores your computer's processor contains and uses.

Via command line

Through computer properties

Via BIOS

This method is suitable for cases when it is not possible to log in to the system for any reason.

So, if you have a 64x processor, then you can use the operating system, games and applications on both 64x and x32. But you cannot do the opposite: Windows will not install, and games and applications will not work correctly, overload the computer, or will not start at all. Therefore, you should always use a product designed for the bit size of your processor.

In order to find out the processor bit depth There are quite a lot of simple and not so simple ways. It is important to know that not all of these methods can display information specifically about the processor bit depth; some display information about the bit depth of the operating system, not the processor; also, some methods may work on your computer, while others may not. The simplest and reliable way- this is the use free program CPU-Z. To determine the processor bit depth, install the program, run it, and after a couple of seconds information about your system will appear in the window, where the processor bit depth will be indicated.

Currently, there are two types of processor bits: 32-bit and 64-bit. The standard display of these parameters is:

• A 32-bit system is designated as 86x
• A 64-bit system is designated as 64x

The same information can be obtained by using the services of another free program AIDA 64. To determine the processor type, install the program, run it and go to the Computer section - then Motherboard– then CPU. This window displays basic information about your processor.

If you use your computer's own resources, you can use the following methods:

1 option

Press the key combination WIN+R

Enter the cmd command

In the window that appears in the address bar, write the command systeminfo and press enter

After about 5 seconds, system information will appear where you will find information about your processor.

Video instruction

Option 2

On the My Computer icon, right-click and select the menu item Properties.

In the window that opens we find the menu device Manager

Select Processors and look at information about the processor.

Option 3

Launch task manager, you can use the key combination CTRL+ALT+DEL

Go to the Performance tab

We look at the black and green windows CPU Load History

If there is more than one of these windows, it means your processor is using 64-bit.

Brief historical background.

The evolution of microprocessors historically implied an increase in the width of integer registers, i.e. the maximum number of bits forming numbers on which it was possible to perform elementary arithmetic operations by executing the corresponding commands. Also, the volume of the addressable address that can be accessed depends linearly on this parameter (without any tricks that slow down the work).
The very first microprocessor Intel 4004 was 4-bit, and the founder of the x86 family, i.e. the first processor to use the most popular so far basic set commands, Intel 8086 was 16-bit. The era of 32-bit microprocessors began in 1985 with the Intel 386; since then, up to and including the Intel Pentium4 and AMD AthlonXP, the command system has only been supplemented (MMX, SSE/SSE2/SSE3, 3Dnow!), but despite the increase in the bit capacity of external buses and cache buses up to 256-bits in some cases, the number of bits of general-purpose integer registers remained equal to 32.
Meanwhile, almost all high-performance processors of later than x86 architectures (mainly RISC variants) have long been 64-bit. (The first such processor, MIPS R3000, appeared in 1994 and was known mainly for SGi workstations and servers). Moreover, Intel was already promoting the second generation of its own initially 64-bit processors with the IA64 architecture (based on VLIW technology) with the commercial name Itanium, which did not have software x86 compatibility.
However, in 2002, AMD introduced a development of the x86 architecture called AMD64, which is another extension of the x86 instruction set, but designed to work with 64-bit general-purpose integer registers. In hardware, this set of commands was first implemented on AMD K8: Opteron/Athlon64 family processors, which are fully software compatible with conventional x86 processors.
Over the next two years, it became clear that the full potential of these processors was only possible when working in an operating system that used the appropriate instruction set and 64-bit memory addressing, which, first of all, made it possible to work without any restrictions with linear data arrays of more than 4GB.
First of all, Linux family operating systems were ported to the new processors, along with a fairly representative set of applications that were critical to processor speed and required large amounts of memory. The speed and stability of the new processors, as well as the fundamental difficulties in creating a desktop processor with Intel IA64 architecture, prompted Microsoft to start porting its OS to this platform.
From that moment on, it became clear that the AMD64 instruction set would become a new industry standard, and Intel had no choice but to add to its processors a complete analogue of the AMD64 instruction set, called EM64T (Extended Memory 64-bit Technology) in Intel's implementation.

How are 64-bit x86 processors fundamentally different from 32-bit ones?
Besides the possibility fast work with 64-bit integers and direct addressing of incomparably large amounts of both virtual and physical memory, the new industrial standard for x86 processors eliminated three fundamental shortcomings of this architecture:
1) Doubling the number of general-purpose integer registers - according to this parameter, all descendants of the Intel 386 were very far behind modern RISC and VLIW processors. The compiler's use of these registers can significantly improve the efficiency of many algorithms.
2)Use for floating point operations not the stack, but the registers used in the SSE2 instruction set. Has a very noticeable impact on performance, but also requires recompilation software.
3)DEP - Data Execution Protection (protection against transmitting the execution of the contents of a data segment when an overflow error occurs), also called EVP (Enhanced Virus Protection), greatly complicates the work of certain classes malware, first of all - worms and Trojans. Does not require software recompilation; it is also supported by 32-bit Microsoft operating systems, starting with WindowsXP SP2 and Windows 2003 Server SP1.

What do I need to run 64-bit x86 applications on my PC?
1) 64-bit x86 processor. At the time of writing the FAQ these were AMD processors with support for AMD64 and Intel technology with EM64T, respectively. Specifically, we are talking about AMD Opteron/Athlon64/Turion 64 (mobile analogue of Athlon64)/Sempron 64/Phenom64. Intel supports EM64T in processors Celeron D 3X1/3X6, Pentium4 5X1/5X6/6XX, Pentium D, Pentium XE (not Pentium4 XE!), all Xeon DP with 800 MHz bus and XeonMP with 667 MHz bus, as well as most future Intel processors with the exception of Pentium M and Celeron M.

Update dated January 2008 - on this moment The AMD64/EM64T instruction set has finally become the standard for all manufactured mobile, desktop and server x86 processors from Intel and AMD.

You also need to make sure that the processor is correctly recognized by the BIOS motherboard(this means that the necessary microcode is loaded into it; failure to comply with this condition can lead to serious problems in the operation of the computer). An update may be required in some situations Motherboard BIOS fees. This primarily concerns Intel processors, since not all LGA775 motherboards initially supported such processors.
2) Operating system.
At the time of writing the FAQ, the following operating systems are available:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Microsoft Windows 2003 Server x64 Editions (Standard/Enterprise/Datacenter), Windows Server 2008, Sun Solaris and various versions of Linux and FreeBSD were also ported to the AMD64 platform (a detailed discussion of the features of unix-like operating systems is beyond the scope of this FAQ), Windows Vista also has x64 versions of all editions except the initial ones.
3) Drivers. All drivers running in the system kernel must be 64-bit; backward compatibility is not provided. For the most common components (video cards nVidia GeForce And ATi Radeon, chipsets and disk controllers Intel, VIA, nVidia) such drivers have already been written.

Will they work? regular applications on 64-bit Windows OS?
1) 32-bit applications for Microsoft Windows - yes, there will be, and in some situations a performance increase is possible compared to running on the same computer, but under a 32-bit OS (especially if the application uses very large amounts of RAM), but however, 32-bit applications cannot access 64-bit DLLs and Active Controls and vice versa. (In practice, this resulted in the fact that as part of 64-bit Windows Internet Explorer left 32-bit to work correctly with pages containing ActiveX elements.)
2) 16-bit applications for Microsoft Windows - no, with the exception of a few installer programs.
3) DOS applications - no. (At the time of writing the FAQ, it became known that the well-proven OpenSource emulator DosBox was ported to 64-bit versions of Windows, which almost completely removes possible problems)
4) Windows applications for IA64 (Itanium) - no.

What will all this give me at the moment and what can it give me in the future?
For ordinary user everyday programs, currently transferring them to a 64-bit platform does not provide any qualitative leap in performance. The only exceptions (and even then relative ones) are some of the latest high-tech games.
The greatest benefits from the transition to 64-bit are programs for working with databases, and the larger the amount of data used, the more noticeable the gain, programs for CAD/CAE (computer-aided design, modeling, etc.), as well as programs for creating digital content (image, sound, video processing), more detailed information As a rule, you can already find out on the website of the developer of the software you are using - as a rule, no one makes secrets about the availability of 64-bit versions.
Of the programs whose porting to 64-bit Windows has been completed or is nearing completion, it is worth mentioning Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005, Cakewalk Sonar 4.0, CryTek FarCry, Epic Unreal Tournament 2004, SiSoft Sandra 2005 Full list Software that is at various stages of porting to Windows x64 can be found.

Comparative table of restrictions on the maximum amount of RAM used and the number of processors for 32 and 64-bit versions of operating systems from Microsoft:

General limitations on the amount of memory used	32-Bit	64-Bit
Full virtual address space	4 GB	16 TB
Virtual address space for a 32-bit process	2 GB (3 GB with download key / 3 GB)	4 GB if the program is compiled with the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE switch (2 GB without it)
Virtual address space for a 64-bit process	Not applicable	8 TB
Paged pool	470 MB	128 GB
Non-paged pool	256 MB	128 GB
System Page Table Entry(PTE)	660 MB to 900 MB	128 GB
Limitations on physical memory and number of processors	32-Bit	64-Bit
Windows XP Professional	4 GB / up to 2 CPU	128 GB / up to 2 CPU
Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition	4 GB / up to 4 CPU	32 GB / up to 4 CPU
Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition	64 GB / up to 8 CPU	1 TB / up to 8 CPU
Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition	64 GB / 8 - 32 CPU	1 TB / 8 - 64 CPU
Windows Server 2008, Web Edition	4 GB / up to 4 CPU	32 GB / up to 4 CPU
Windows Server 2008, Standard Edition	4 GB / up to 4 CPU	32 GB / up to 4 CPU
Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Edition	64 GB / up to 8 CPU	2 TB / up to 8 CPU
Windows Server 2008, Datacenter Edition	64 GB / up to 32 CPU	2 TB / up to 64 CPU
Windows Server 2008, HPC Edition	-	128 GB / up to 4 CPU

Information about the maximum supported memory sizes for 64-bit Windows versions Vista can be found.

In most cases, users think about the bitness of the operating system and processor only when they start to.

Then two questions arise. Firstly, what operating system is installed, 32 or 64 bit. And secondly, is it possible to install a 64-bit system, does the processor support it?

We will try to answer these questions in this material. Here we will talk about how to find out what system is currently installed and whether the processor supports installing a 64-bit system.

System and processor capacity in Windows 8 or Windows 10

If you are using Windows 8 or, then in order to find out whether the processor supports a 64-bit system, as well as what system is currently installed on your computer, you do not need any additional software. All the necessary information can be obtained through the tools built into Windows.

To do this, simply open the “View information about your computer” window. There are different ways to open this window. For example, if there is a computer icon on your desktop, then you can simply right-click on it and select “Properties” from the menu that opens. Or you can open the “Control Panel” and go to the “System and Security - System” section. Well, the easiest way to open the “View information about your computer” window is the Windows-Pause/Break key combination.

After you open the “View information about your computer” window, you need to pay attention to the “System type” line; it will indicate the bitness of the operating system and the bitness of the processor.

For example, if you have a 64-bit system and a 64-bit processor, then it will look like the screenshot below.

If you have a 32-bit system installed, but a 64-bit processor, then it will look like this.

If the processor is listed as 64-bit, it means that it supports 64-bit systems and you can install it if necessary.

System and processor capacity in Windows 7 and XP

If you are using Windows 7 or Windows XP, then the method described above will not give you all the information. For example, Windows 7 also has a “View information about your computer” window and it opens just like in Windows 8 or Windows 10 (through Computer Properties, through Control Panel, or through the Windows-Pause/Break key combination). But in Windows 7, this window only contains information about the system bit depth; there is no information about the processor bit depth.

In Windows XP, you can also open a window with information about your computer, where it is called “System Properties”. To open it, you need to right-click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Properties” or press the Windows-Pause/Break key combination. In Windows XP, in the System Properties window, the system bit depth will only be indicated if you are using 64-bit Windows XP.

If Windows XP is 32-bit, then there will be no mention of bit depth.

Therefore, if you have Windows 7 or Windows XP, then in order to find out whether the 64-row system supports you, you need to use. Run this program on your computer and see what instructions are supported by your processor (in the screenshot below).

If the list of supported instructions includes " x86-64" or " EM64T", this means that you have a 64-bit processor and it supports a 64-bit system.

Computer architecture(eng. Computer architecture) - the structure of a computer that determines the processing of information and the principles of interaction technical means and software.
Computer random access memory (RAM, RAM). Computer RAM is abbreviated as RAM(random access memory) or RAM(random access memory - random access memory).

What is bit depth? Bit capacity is the ability to simultaneously process a certain number of bits.
All systems Linux exist in two versions - 32-bit And 64-bit.
Architectural differences between 32 And 64-bit versions Linux, of course there is.
The most important features and differences that directly affect the user and which he has to deal with:

1. Maximum amount of random access memory (RAM).
2. Operating system bit size (32 or 64-bit).
3. Processor capacity.

Maximum amount of RAM.

32-bit the operating system can use, "see" no more than 4 GB of RAM. This is the most important difference, and the most significant. If on your computer RAM(RAM) - 2 GB, That 32-bit The operating system works fine with this volume.

64-bit the operating system can work with much more ABOUT larger amounts of memory – up to 192 GB.

If you are on a computer with 4 GB RAM you will work under the management 32-bit OS, then she simply won’t see such volume. All she can use is approximately 3.5 GB from 4 GB. It cannot provide the remaining volume for running programs. Of course, if you install it on a computer with 8 GB RAM, say, and at the same time you will remain on 32-bit system, then she won’t see again 3.5 GB from the entire established volume and the remaining 4.5 GB will simply remain unused.

What features does a 64-bit system have?

Visually – none. Those. outwardly it is a regular OS, no different from 32-bit option.
Technically, there are minor differences. The first thing is that 64-bit OS“sees” large amounts of memory and knows how to work with them. Secondly, it allows you to run 64-bit applications(32-bit - no).

Processor capacity.

Accordingly, in order to be able to install 64-bit Linux, your processor must support 64-bit instructions (otherwise you won't even be able to start installing 64-bit Linux). These instructions can be called differently: Intel-IA64, AMD - AMD64.

To determine what type of processor (32 or 64-bit) your computer has, run the following command in the terminal:

As you can see in the picture after executing the command, the architecture of my computer x86_64, i.e. 64-bit. And the processor supports both 32-bit, so 64-bit architecture of installed systems.
If after executing the command you see numbers x86, i686 or i386, means your computer's processor - 32-bit and you can only install on it 32-bit systems.

To check the architecture of the installed Linux OS on your computer, run one of the following commands in a terminal.