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What Does x64 and x86 Mean?

Discussion in 'Site & Server Administration' started by gobbly2100, Jan 26, 2008.

  1. Froggys

    Froggys Greenhorn

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    #21
    Vista is unlogical as hell.
     
    Froggys, Aug 8, 2016 IP
  2. Priyank Soni

    Priyank Soni Greenhorn

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    #22
    I will you little different answer but it's related to your question.
    First let me start by defining what are bits,this refers to the amount of data a processor can handle based on the number of bits it has hence 32 bit can store 132 computaional values and a 64 bit processor can store 264 computaional values ,and here a 64 bit can access over 4 billion as much physical memory a 32 bit can access .The 32 bit processors are designed to handle a limited amount of physical memory 4GB (not more than) but 64 bit can handle high memory utilizing 8,16 and some even32 GB hence to archive this the operating system has to be designed to take advantage of higher memory and here is where the "32-bit" or "64-bit" operating system comes in,basically ("x32 and x86" OS)are all for 32 bits processors,(x64 or 64 bit OS) ment for 64 bit processor .To add on that a 32 bit OS can be installed on a 64 bit processor but a x64 OS cannot be installed on a 32 bit architecture processor.
     
    Priyank Soni, Aug 24, 2016 IP
  3. Giaco

    Giaco Greenhorn

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    #23
    How do you get to 132 computational values for 32 bit and 264 computational values for 64 bit systems? It's all about numbers, a binary number (bit) can have two values 0 or 1 thus:

    for 32 bit systems -> 2^32 = 4 294 967 296 ~ 4x10^9 computational values or memory state possibilities
    for 64 bit systems -> 2^64 = 18 446 744 073 709 551 616 ~ 18x10^18 computational values or memory state possibilities

    See also: https://web.stanford.edu/class/cs101/bits-bytes.html

    Interesting and especially funny thread :) :).
     
    Giaco, Sep 12, 2016 IP
  4. Bernard Mark

    Bernard Mark Member

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    #24
    These are operating system architectures.

    Programs are designed to work according to these architectures.

    When installing a new windows operating system, you are asked to choose one, for me, x86 (which is same as 32) is more user friendly as a lot of open source and freeware programs are in this architecture. You should check what programs you will be installing on your computer before you decide what architecture to use.

    have a great day!
     
    Bernard Mark, Oct 10, 2016 IP
  5. monovm

    monovm Active Member

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    #25
    x86 is for 32bit softwares
     
    monovm, Oct 19, 2016 IP
  6. jusarg

    jusarg Peon

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    #26
    Simply put...

    x86 = compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit
    32-Bit = Older Systems (late 90s - early 2000s)
    64-Bit = Modern Systems (current)
     
    jusarg, Oct 31, 2016 IP
  7. trader4life

    trader4life Active Member

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    #27
    more memory capacity for 64bit system... x86 is limited to 4GB memory while 64bit can be 16GB ram... By now you'll understand which is more powerful
     
    trader4life, Nov 30, 2016 IP
  8. matt_62

    matt_62 Prominent Member

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    #28
    Old thread... and in my typical manner, I might go off topic a little, simply as I would like to help people have better understanding to help them choose between keeping or replacing their existing computers.

    Not sure if this answer was mentioned. But any modern computer* is capable of running 64bit OS. With a 64bit OS installed, the software you run, could be 64bit, or 32bit, you wont even know or realise.

    Every software I have works on a 32bit os, only 1 program I have comes with alternative install disc for 64bit. But yes, more and more software will be created for 64bit systems. But unless you have software that will not run on your 23bit systems, then you are not affected at this stage.

    So right now, in 2016, while 32bit OS is old, if you have it installed on your computer it be fine for a few more years. The only time 32bit may be an issue for slightly older computers is if you wish to do an upgrade. Any computer that has more then 3gb of ram, will need a 64bit OS. IF you wanted to upgrade to have 8gb of ram, and try to run a 32bit OS on it, the OS will only be able to see 3gb of ram.

    I have seen people buy brand new, yet completely rubbish laptops, not understanding what they had, and what they need. You might have a reasonably powerful computer running a 32bit os... buying a new computer, depending on what you HAVE, and what you BUY, you could actually be getting a downgrade. In all honesty, some of the cheapest laptops you see for sale, are almost "disposable", yet people blindly hand over wads of cash, thinking, and hoping that this will be faster, and better for them.

    If you have a computer running a 32bit os and want to replace it with a new 64bit computers just for it to be faster... one great option is to get a tech (or learn how), to replace your HDD with an SSD. My 10year old 32bit laptop can go from off to desktop faster then any other laptop I have used or owned. SO you dont have to go out and buy a new computer, or a new version of windows 64bit.

    Here is another option for anyone that has 32bit OS installed and you are considering to buy new hardware. It might be worth the time to look into a linux OS to try out. Most of my computers use Linux mint, and windows in dual boot. For one computer it is windows vista, (32bit) and linux mint (64bit) so with this setup, while vista is 32bit and can only see 3gb of ram, the linux mint being 64 bit, could easily use all of the ram. Great if you are running "steam" on linux and have a good game library.

    Look, sorry for the long post. Hope this helps people.

    *by modern computer, I mean a normal computer or laptop. I do not mean things such as phones, tablets, or specialist hardware like the raspberry pi.
     
    matt_62, Dec 10, 2016 IP
  9. Bonkers About Tech

    Bonkers About Tech Member

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    #29
    Hi,
    x86 basically means a 32-bit system and x64 refers to a 64-bit system.
    For further information, check this out:

    https://www.bonkersabouttech.com/howto/x86-vs-x64-explained/396

    Hope that helps you.

    Cheers,

    Barry
     
    Bonkers About Tech, Jan 8, 2017 IP
  10. 360 Technification

    360 Technification Greenhorn

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    #30
    x64 means it is a 64bit processor. x86 means it is a 32 bit processor! Simple as that buddy.
     
    360 Technification, Feb 10, 2017 IP
  11. Svetoslav Penchev

    Svetoslav Penchev Peon

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    #31
    x64 - 64 bit processor platform, x86 - 32 bit processor platform
     
    Svetoslav Penchev, Feb 21, 2017 IP
  12. siteslikecraigslist

    siteslikecraigslist Member

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    #32
    x64 folder is for 64 bit platform while x86 is for 32bit platform (note: to keep the long story short, why it is not called x32, ...the 16-bit chips in early PCs used the 8086 architecture, that's how and why the designer used the number 86 ie x86)
     
    siteslikecraigslist, Feb 26, 2017 IP
  13. Holafromspain

    Holafromspain Greenhorn

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    #33
    Why would anyone use a 32bit OS now when there are 64bit?
     
    Holafromspain, Mar 9, 2017 IP
  14. PoPSiCLe

    PoPSiCLe Illustrious Member

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    #34
    Due to the fact that there is, for most private users, no immediate benefit in using 64bit over 32bit, the question is kinda stupid. Given that until very recently, 64bit also provided other problems, both driver-wise and with specific programs not working correctly, there are plenty of reasons using 32bit infrastructure. Not so much anymore, granted, but as long as you don't have more then 4GB RAM, and stay below specific HDD sizes, 32bit works just fine.
     
    PoPSiCLe, Mar 10, 2017 IP
  15. Rokis

    Rokis Member

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    #35
    If you have less than 8GB RAM then 32bit OS is recommended to keep the performance at it's best.
     
    Rokis, Mar 20, 2017 IP
  16. PoPSiCLe

    PoPSiCLe Illustrious Member

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    #36
    Actually, no. The LIMIT for 32bit OS is 4GB - it can't utilize anything above that. And since it's completely possible to run 5, 6, 7 and anything above that GB of RAM, anything ABOVE 4GB warrants a 64bit OS.
     
    PoPSiCLe, Mar 20, 2017 IP
  17. Rokis

    Rokis Member

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    #37
    Yes, you are absolutely correct. Not sure how I forgot that.
     
    Rokis, Mar 20, 2017 IP
  18. deathshadow

    deathshadow Acclaimed Member

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    #38
    It's actually even more complex than "oh 32 bit only has a 4gb limit" -- as in practice you get LESS than that.

    32 bit only has 4 gigs of ADDRESS SPACE, aka where memory can be mapped. This -- at least on most OS platforms like Windows -- INCLUDES YOUR VIDEO MEMORY AND ANY MEMORY MAPPED HARDWARE SUCH AS LAN BUFFERING!

    As such in practice, if you have a video card with 2 gigs of Memory, guess what bucko! Your maximum memory in 32 bit windows just dipped BELOW 2 gigs... as that video memory has to be placed somewhere too! ROM has to sit someplace, be it real ROM or flash... new extensions like UEFI sucks down on that upper limit of memory too. (which is why if you have UEFI firmware, run a 64 bit OS!)

    Not ALL cards map ALL their memory in 32 bit operation, using a paging system to get around this issue, but it still subtracts from your overall total and hobbles your video card performance.

    Even when running 32 bit code on a AMD64/EM64T/PickANameNotYourNoseAlready OS (so called x64) thanks to how something called "selectors" work at the processor level, the 32 bit games can access 4 gigs of video memory as each selector can have it's own separate 4 gig address space.

    Let's just say with 6gb and 8gb memory cards a reality, even if a game is 32 bit, there are BIG advantages to running it on a 64 bit OS... Whilst 64 bit versions of said games are the ONLY way to unlock those cards full potential.

    There's a reason GTA V, Witcher 3, Dragon Age:Inquisition, and ME:Andromeda do not even have 32 bit versions!

    Further complicating matters is most 32 bit compilers do not by default make "large address aware" executables for Windows. What this means is that most 32 bit software has an artificial cap set on them at 2 gigs. Laughably this is just a flag in the loader that you can turn off with command line utilities such as "editbin". The memory hungry pig that was Gothic 3 was notorious for performance problems on systems with more than 2 gigs as it saw there was more memory and tried to map it, and then had to deal with mapping failures (which it did slowly and silently writing to the error logs in the background) because it was compiled with that flag off.

    There's a reason for this little batch file I use a lot:
    
    c:\bin\editbin /LARGEADDRESSAWARE %1
    
    Code (markup):
    Linsux handles memory mapping a bit different from Winblows, but for the most part faces many of the same limitations. It's not just RAM that has to sit in address space, it's ALL memory-mapped hardware... including the video framebuffer and any backbuffers! The bus is only so wide...

    Worse, a lot of early 32 bit x86 systems didn't even map all 32 address lines. Most 486's for example only wired up 30 address lines to the RAM sockets, limiting you to a gig. Up until P4's it was quite rare to see more than 31 address lines mapped since if you need to leave room for hardware, why bother creating wires that cannot even be used? That's why so many 32 bit only P4 and Athlon XP era processors top-out at 2 gigs... a limitation that reared it's ugly head again in early Atom implementations, since they were mostly just (originally) low voltage implementations of the P3 era hardware... wasn't until they added a proper EM64T (aka AMD64) extension to it that we finally got "useful" atom's in the modern sense... and now we have Celery's like the J1900 in my workstation that are just batshit nutters (2ghz quad core celery?) given their low power draw (10 watts or less) that's starting to steal a bit of ARM's thunder. Not hard when most 32 bit ARM processors at 1ghz actually deliver the processing performance of a 450mhz Pentium II.

    OF course you have to remember too that "x64' is the generic name for the standard set by AMD64, copied by Intel under license as EM64T... (aka Intel saying "yes, you ARE going to license that to us, or we're gonna not renew your x86 license!) -- though now there are a half dozen different names for it. There are dozens of other 64 bit platforms to keep in mind, the relatively recent ARM64, SPARC64, Power64 (G5/newer)... even Intel's own (somewhat failed) Itanium is known as i64. NONE of which are binary level code compatible with each-other!!! -- as such saying "x64 means a 64 bit processor" while accurate, does NOT portray the entire picture. An ARM64 is 64 bit too, that does NOT make it an x64 compatible!

    Which is something to watch out for if you collect Windows XP versions -- there are TWO 64 bit XP flavors, i64 (an actual rewrite for itanium) and x64 (aka Server 2k3 in drag). They are NOT interchangeable.

    Bottom line, all x64 are 64 bit but not all 64 bit are x64.... and just because there's 4 gigs of address space on 32 bit does NOT mean all 32 bits of address lines are free to map RAM into! Sometimes the top few lines are outright missing or unmapped, and other stuff like video memory, firmware, LAN framebuffers, etc, etc has to fit into that 4 gig limit too!

    Which is why I wouldn't even TRY booting a 32 bit OS seriously on my media center with its 8gb GTX 1070 and UEFI firmware. Given the overall configuration of that machine and how nVidia handles paging (2gb) I'd be surprised if any OS allowed me access to more than 1.5 gigs of the 24 gigs installed in the machine. Be even less if it had a real PCI slot so I could add my EMU Morpheus.
     
    deathshadow, Mar 20, 2017 IP
  19. Green Harry

    Green Harry Greenhorn

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    #39
    Hello,
    x86 means 32 bit OS and x64 means 64 bit .

    Regadrs!
    Green Harry
     
    Green Harry, Apr 4, 2017 IP
  20. Agent X86-64

    Agent X86-64 Peon

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    #40
    No doubt this was just a typo from a careless programmer, too busy seeking out a forgotten semicolon instead of focusing on error checking their bit size calculations.

    Just go ahead and correct it by renaming the folder 'x32' instead and order will be restored to the universe. Oh! whilst you're there, can you also remove about 24 bytes from each kB. They were spares which weren't supposed to be left in there. If you could send them back that would be great. Address is 127.0.0.1
     
    Agent X86-64, Jul 9, 2017 IP