32-bit computing: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Computer architecture bit width}}

{{More citations needed|date=October 2009}}

{{Computer architecdfedturearchitecture bit widths}}

In [[computer architecture]], '''32-bit computing''' refers to computer systems with a [[Central processing unit|processor]], [[computer memory|memory]], and other major system components that operate on data in 32-[[bit]] units.<ref name="PCMProsise1995">{{Cite magazine |last=Prosise |first=Jeff |date=1995-11-07 |title=16 or 32 Bits: Should It Matter to You? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qxIpLj9BmV8C&pg=PA321 |magazine=PC Magazine |pages=321–322 |access-date=2022-11-30}}</ref><ref name="SDFEBuchanan1997">{{Cite book |last=Buchanan |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufAQAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA230 |title=Software Development for Engineers : C/C++, Pascal, Assembly, Visual Basic, HTML, Java Script, Java DOS, Windows NT, UNIX. |date=1997 |publisher=Elsevier Science |isbn=978-0-08-054137-2 |___location=Burlington |pages=230 |oclc=854975383}}</ref> Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculations more efficiently and process more data per clock cycle. Typical 32-bit [[Personal computer|personal computers]] also have a 32-bit [[address bus]], permitting up to 4 GB of [[random-access memory|RAM]] to be accessed, far more than previous generations of system architecture allowed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Venkateswarlu |first=N.B. |title=Essential Computer and IT Fundamentals for Engineering and Science Students |publisher=S. Chand Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=978-81-219-4047-4 |pages=143}}</ref>