64-bit
A term describing a computer architecture with an ALU, registers and data bus which handle 64 bits at a time.
64-bit processors were quite common by 1996, e.g. Digital Alpha, versions of Sun SPARC, MIPS, IBM AS/4000. The PowerPC and Intel were expected to move to 64 bits at their next generation - PPC 620 and Intel P7. Being able to deal with 64-bit binary numbers means the processor can work with signed integers between +-2^32 or unsigned integers between zero and 2^64-1. A 64-bit address bus allows the processor to address 18 million gigabytes as opposed to the mere four gigabytes allowed with 32 bits. In 1996 hard disks could already hold over 4 GB. Floating point calculations can also be more accurate. A 64-bit OS is needed as well to take advantage of the CPU. In 1996 there were only a few 64-bit operating systems, including OS/400, Digital Unix, Solaris (partialy). A 32-bit OS can run on a 64-bit CPU.Last updated: 2004-05-12
Nearby terms:
5NF ♦ 5th Glove ♦ 6.001 ♦ 610 ♦ 6309 ♦ 64-bit ♦ 6501 ♦ 6502 ♦ 650x ♦ 6510 ♦ 6526
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