What specify 32bit and 64bit (CPU or MOBO)??

[divine12345]

Hi my name is paolo I'm pretty much confused about the 32 and 64bit specification. I'm confused if it is the CPU or the Motherboard.

First I tried to see if my CPU is 32 or 64bit. Ive seen a site that gives a few easy steps to determine if my CPU is 32 or 64bit.

#1 Go to Start -> Right click on Computer -> Click Properties. Click on Windows Experience Index ->View and Print detailed performance and system information.

mine shows like this.

System type 32-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2
64-bit capable Yes

(Q: would this tell that my CPU is 64 bit and I'm just using 32-bit OS? or I just really got a 32 bit CPU? )



#2 Go to Start -> Type regedit

Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\CentralProcessor\0

they said : From ProcessorNameString you will be able to see the name of your processor and from Identifier you will see the family of the processor and if it has 64 then it is 64-bit capable.

mine is
Name: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E4500 @2.20Ghz
Identifier: x86 family 6 model 15 stepping 13

(This one actually conclude that the cpu is 32-bit)

#3 Go to Start -> Type msinfo32.exe "System information"
check System type.

mine is x86-based PC

(Q: Is this x86 based PC is really identifying the CPU or the Motherboard? when i search on how to check if motherboard is 32 or 64bit this is what they do. So now I'm confused if it is for CPU or for Motherboard?)

#4 CPU-z
they said: Under Instructions from CPU tab, if you see EM64T (if its Intel) or AMD64 (if its AMD) then your processor is 64-bit capable.

I got EM64T which they said is 64-bit capable.

(Q: WHAT THE!! #1 I'm not sure, #2 and #3 said that my CPU is 32-bit but #4 said it is 64-bit please help me I'm really confused.)

 

[satyamdubey]

Question 1: yes your have a 64 bit processor but you are running a 32 bit Windows. So in your case, you are limited to 32 bit application and 4GB ram limit only because of your OS.
http://ark.intel.com/products/30781/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E4500-%282M-Cache-2_20-GHz-800-MHz-FSB%29

Question 2: x86 model 6 Family 14 was Core architecture with code name Yonah and that was 32 bit. Yours is Model 15 code name Allendale and those are 64 bit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_microprocessors

Question 3: x86 based PC gives no Idea because x86 is just an instruction set and it has had processors from 16 bit all the way up to 64 bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86

Question 4: EM64T is intel's name for their 64 bit extension to x86 instruction set.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86-64

So all four of your questions have one answer. you have a 64 bit cpu.

I hope this helps.

good luck
-satyam

 

[divine12345]

Best answer selected by divine12345.

 

[divine12345]

Question 1: yes your have a 64 bit processor but you are running a 32 bit Windows. So in your case, you are limited to 32 bit application and 4GB ram limit only because of your OS.
http://ark.intel.com/products/30781/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E4500-%282M-Cache-2_20-GHz-800-MHz-FSB%29

Question 2: x86 model 6 Family 14 was Core architecture with code name Yonah and that was 32 bit. Yours is Model 15 code name Allendale and those are 64 bit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_microprocessors

Question 3: x86 based PC gives no Idea because x86 is just an instruction set and it has had processors from 16 bit all the way up to 64 bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86

Question 4: EM64T is intel's name for their 64 bit extension to x86 instruction set.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86-64

So all four of your questions have one answer. you have a 64 bit cpu.

I hope this helps.

good luck
-satyam

WOW!! thanks that is so precise! but even thou I got 64bit CPU I cant install 64-bit OS coz I got x86 Motherboard (if thats what x86 based PC means)? am I right? IDK exactly

PS: i actually installed 32-bit OS for the reason that I dont know if my motherboard is 32bit or 64bit.

 

[satyamdubey]

Paolo, you can install a 64 bit OS no problem. OS support is cpu based only. mobo is a platform to use your components together. cpu, ram etc. Your mobo limits you with the amount of ram you can use and type of pcie bandwidth you can get.

for instance, a 32 bit windows operating system (any 32 bit OS for that matter) can not address more than 4 gb of ram. So you can have a 64 bit cpu with a mobo capable of running 32 gb of ram but your OS will only recognize 4 GB's.

and on the other hand, you can have a 64 bit OS which can address 128 GB of ram, but on the same mobo you can install only 32 GB but all of it will be recognized and addressed. So it is like this

32 bit OS(4GB ram support) + 32 GB ram support Mobo = ~4(yeah, even that is not completely available) GB ram available to system

64 bit OS(128 GB ram support) + 32 GB ram support Mobo = 32 GB ram available to system.

it's a bit confusing but that's the way it is

 

[divine12345]

OMG!!! THANKS A LOT!!!

 

[satyamdubey]

you are welcome Paulo have a nice day/evening (depends where you are right now)

 

[Shaylaw]

Paolo, you can install a 64 bit OS no problem. OS support is cpu based only. mobo is a platform to use your components together. cpu, ram etc. Your mobo limits you with the amount of ram you can use and type of pcie bandwidth you can get.

for instance, a 32 bit windows operating system (any 32 bit OS for that matter) can not address more than 4 gb of ram. So you can have a 64 bit cpu with a mobo capable of running 32 gb of ram but your OS will only recognize 4 GB's.

and on the other hand, you can have a 64 bit OS which can address 128 GB of ram, but on the same mobo you can install only 32 GB but all of it will be recognized and addressed. So it is like this

32 bit OS(4GB ram support) + 32 GB ram support Mobo = ~4(yeah, even that is not completely available) GB ram available to system

64 bit OS(128 GB ram support) + 32 GB ram support Mobo = 32 GB ram available to system.

it's a bit confusing but that's the way it is

this is great i needed that answer too i wish i could choose this as the bes answer