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Possible Duplicate:
Does a motherboard have to support 64-bit or is it just the CPU?

  1. For computer, being 32/64bit is a property of CPU, motherboard, or both?

  2. How do I recognize that "computer" is 32 or 64 bit? I only recongize it by looking if the Windows provided with it are 32 or 64 bit... but that's not ideal.

Community
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Tomas
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2 Answers2

5

CPU determines this. However, you can install a 32bit OS on a 64bit processor

Dave M
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It's a property of both the motherboard and the CPU collectively. A processor can be either 32-bit or have 64-bit extensions, but it needs a compatible motherboard to plug into. A motherboard could support 64-bit processors, but you could also plug a 32-bit one into it if you didn't need/want/afford 64-bit capability.

For question #2, there are several ways to determine whether the processor is operating in 32-bit or 64-bit mode. As others have commented though, this has been answered elsewhere.

Bigbio2002
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