How can I determine whether my processor is 32-bit or 64-bit?

Question

How can I determine whether my processor is 32-bit or 64-bit? My processor is AMD Phenom 8450 triple-core.

Answer 1

Another way would be to use CPU-Z. In addition to bitness (AMD64 or EM64T) of the processor, it will display other useful characteristics of the processor.

Another way would be to check directly on the website of the manufacturer. Intel has a database of its processors here and it's quite nice. Unfortunately, AMD does not have such nice interface, but you can always go to their homepage and poke around. Here is the list of their desktop processors. VIA's processors seem to be listed here.

Answer 2

You could search google/newegg for your particular processor, if you know it by name, and read the specs. The specs on your processor says: 64-Bit Support: Yes. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103254

But i'd vote for someone else's answer if they could give a quick and easy way to check this without having to know your processor's model. Maybe it says in the bios on boot up?

Answer 3

What OS are you on?

In Linux / Mac OS X all you have to do is open a terminal and type uname -p

Answer 4

Open the System Information

Open the Start menu, and click on Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information

Look in the System Summary

The System Information tool will display detailed information about your Windows operating system. Once opened it will show the "System Summary" – it’s an overview of your computer and operating system.

Look for the System Type Item

On the right hand side of the window you will see a list of items. Look for the item called "System Type".

The value of this item will tell you whether your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit:

x86-based PC: It’s a 32-bit computer.
x64-based PC: It’s a 64-bit computer.

Answer 5

For Windows, you can simply type either:

wmic cpu get datawidth

or:

echo %processor_architecture%

in command prompt. wmic cpu get addresswidth is for the OS, not the CPU, in case someone was wondering.

Answer 6

Google for the processor's name. I found a wikipedia article about AMD processors.

It states, that the 8450 supports AMD64, which means it is a 64Bit processor.

Answer 7

To the best of my knowledge all Phenom series are AMD/64. If you need assurance and you're using a Linux or BSD OS take a look at what dmesg says on bootup.

Answer 8

You can use this program created by Steve Gibson of Gibson Research Corporation called SecurAble. This tool will not only tell you if it is a 32/64 bit processor, it will also tell you if the CPU supports hardware DEP protection and if it supports Hardware Virtualization.

The program requires no installation at all. It simply uses a signed driver and communicates with the processor.

Answer 9

You don't know external 3rd party software. You can just use the terminal prompt to check it.

If you are using Linux:

uname -m

return x8_64 if 64bit and i386 if 32bit

or you can use the easy command:

arch

Return if 64 or 32

If you are using Windows. Open command prompt and run the command:

wmic os get osarchitecture

return whether 32 or 64 bit.

If you are running OSX:

system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType

Return

  64-bit Kernel and Extensions: No   (this output for 32-bit kernel)
  64-bit Kernel and Extensions: Yes (this is output for 64-bit kernel)

Answer 10

Phenom x3 processors are basically quad-cores with one core locked (mostly due to defects). These are all 64-bit. PS - If you're interested, you should google to see and try to unlock your fourth core. A lot of AMD x3 have a working fourth core that can be unlocked to make your processor a quad core.

Answer 11

Below command on 'command prompt' would display CPU name and family.

wmic cpu get Description

on a 64bit OS

Intel64 Family 6 Model 69 Stepping 1

on a 32bit OS

x64 Family 6 Model 69 Stepping 1

Name of Processor on a 64bit or 32bit OS

wmic cpu get Name

Results in

Name Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4300U CPU @ 1.90GHz