I am no Technocrat but I want to have knowledge of latest Technologies. I have heard that most of the Computer Notebooks now a days are 64 bit Architectural. What is the basic meaning of 64 bit Architectural Systems and what are their Advantages and Disadvantages. Why they are called 64 bit?
The 64-bit terminology in computer architecture was derived from the processor it uses. Usually, it is called x86-64. It is the 64-bit version of the x86 instruction set which Intel named EM64T. Actually, the 64-bit platform architecture depends on the processor you are using. If you have a new computer or laptop, it will surely support a 64-bit processor.
This is because most of the motherboard nowadays ship with 64-bit processor. The main practical advantage of using a 64-bit system is the ability to use bigger amounts of RAM. The maximum amount of RAM allowed in a 64-bit system is 17 billion GB while 32-bit systems are only limited to 3.2 GB.
That’s why if you have a 32-bit system and you have 4 GB RAM, you will not attain the full 4 GB capacity because of the limitation and only 3.2 GB is the useful amount. Another advantage of 64-bit systems is its backward compatibility. With a 64-bit system, you can install a 32-bit operating system and use 32-bit applications.
While if you are using a 32-bit system, you can’t use or install 64-bit operating system nor use 64-bit applications. The problem with 64-bit computer systems is that not much applications support 64-bit. Though you can run 32-bit applications on 64-bit Microsoft Windows, sometimes it doesn’t work on an application. Another is driver compatibility. For more information about 32-bit and 64-bit systems, you may visit 32-bit Versus 64-bit.
