32-bit computing: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 03:23, 18 January 2005

Revision as of 08:58, 6 March 2005

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The range of [[integer]] values that can be stored in 32 bits is [[0 (number)|0]] through [[4294967295 (number)|4294967295]], or -2147483648 through [[2147483647 (number)|2147483647]] using [[two's complement]] coding. Hence, a 32-bit processor can address [[Gigabyte|4GB]] of [[byte-addressable]] memory.

The external address and data buses are often wider than 32- bits but both of these are stored and manipulated internally in the processor as 32-bit quantities. For example, the [[Pentium Pro]] processor is a 32-bit machine, but the external address bus is 36- bits wide, and the external data bus is 64- bits wide.

''See also:'' [[32-bit application]], [[32-bit era]], [[16-bit]], [[16-bit application]], [[64-bit]]