Linux system bitness. Comprehensive information about the bit depth of the operating system? Commands for displaying information about the processor

In the process of getting to know and using a computer for a long time, many users are faced with the issue of operating system bitness. Today there are 2 types of OS bit depth: x32 and x64. First of all, the system’s capacity is necessary when installing a certain group of programs, which are released in two versions, as well as when choosing a distribution kit for installing the OS on a computer.

What is bit depth?

Bit capacity is the processor’s ability to process and execute commands in a certain bit depth mode.

Today there are two types of bit depth: x32 (x86) and x64. The x32-bit capacity is sometimes called x86; this type of capacity is characteristic of past generations of processors, and x64 is characteristic of new and modern ones. The ability to set the type of bit depth of the operating system also depends on the bit depth of the processor.

The main technical differences between x32 and x64 for the user are quite significant and have a lot of nuances during installation; we will discuss their differences and features below.

OS bit differences?

So, first of all, the speed of its operation depends on the bit depth of the operating system. According to research, a system with x64-bit architecture works faster than its x32-bit counterpart. Today, many separate versions of programs have been written specifically for x64 architecture, however, most of them still work only in x32 mode.

Some people believe that if most programs are written for x32 architecture, then there is no point in installing an x64 system, but this is fundamentally wrong.

Most users today have more than 4 GB. It is important to note that x32-bit operating systems only work with RAM up to 4 GB. In other words, if you have 4 GB or more of RAM, then the x32-bit OS will only work with 3 GB; the rest of the RAM will simply not be used. An x64 OS will see the entire possible amount of RAM, as long as your motherboard supports it. from x64 to a computer with less than 4 GB of RAM - it makes no sense.

Note that in an x64 operating system you can install x32 applications, but if it’s the other way around, then not.

There are no visual differences between the x32 OS and the x64 system. They are absolutely identical visually. Their only obvious difference is the presence of two “Program Files” folders on the system drive C: x64 applications are installed in one, and x32 applications are installed in the other (labeled x86).

How to choose OS bit depth?

In order to choose an OS, you need to know the bit rate of your processor and the amount of RAM. If you have more than 4 GB of RAM (ideally 6 GB or more), then it’s definitely worth installing an x64-bit system.

Let us separately consider cases with computers whose RAM capacity is exactly 4 GB. The fact is that many people in this case install an x64-bit system in order to experience all the so-called “advantages” of this bit capacity, and also so as not to lose half a gigabyte of memory. But the fact is that we, in turn, would strongly recommend that you give preference to an OS with x32-bit. The fact is that the x64 system covers the unused half a megabyte of the x32 system, however, for its work it takes more than this volume, which makes such an installation impractical.

When the amount of RAM does not exceed 4 GB, and the processor is running in x32 mode, then there is nothing left but to install x32 OS.

How to find out the OS bit depth?

Let's now try to find out what the bit depth of your installed system is.

You can get the most accurate answer to the system capacity question in the information section. To do this, call the side menu in

Computer architecture(eng. Computer architecture) - the structure of a computer that determines the processing of information and the principles of interaction between hardware and software.
Computer random access memory (RAM, RAM). Computer RAM is abbreviated as RAM(random access memory) or RAM(random access memory - random access memory).

What is bit depth? Bit capacity is the ability to simultaneously process a certain number of bits.
All systems Linux exist in two versions - 32-bit And 64-bit.
Architectural differences between 32 And 64-bit versions Linux, of course there is.
The most important features and differences that directly affect the user and which he has to deal with:

1. Maximum amount of random access memory (RAM).
2. Operating system bit size (32 or 64-bit).
3. Processor capacity.

Maximum amount of RAM.

32-bit the operating system can use, "see" no more than 4 GB of RAM. This is the most important difference, and the most significant. If your computer has random access memory (RAM) - 2 GB, That 32-bit The operating system works fine with this volume.

64-bit the operating system can work with much more ABOUT larger amounts of memory – up to 192 GB.

If you are on a computer with 4 GB RAM you will work under the management 32-bit OS, then she simply won’t see such volume. All she can use is approximately 3.5 GB from 4 GB. It cannot provide the remaining volume for running programs. Of course, if you install it on a computer with 8 GB RAM, say, and at the same time you will remain on 32-bit system, then she won’t see again 3.5 GB from the entire established volume and the remaining 4.5 GB will simply remain unused.

What features does a 64-bit system have?

Visually – none. Those. outwardly it is a regular OS, no different from 32-bit option.
Technically, there are minor differences. The first thing is that 64-bit OS“sees” large amounts of memory and knows how to work with them. Secondly, it allows you to run 64-bit applications(32-bit - no).

Processor capacity.

Accordingly, in order to be able to install 64-bit Linux, your processor must support 64-bit instructions (otherwise you won't even be able to start installing 64-bit Linux). These instructions can be called differently: Intel-IA64, AMD - AMD64.

To determine what type of processor (32 or 64-bit) your computer has, run the following command in the terminal:

As you can see in the picture after executing the command, the architecture of my computer x86_64, i.e. 64-bit. And the processor supports both 32-bit, so 64-bit architecture of installed systems.
If after executing the command you see numbers x86, i686 or i386, means your computer's processor - 32-bit and you can only install on it 32-bit systems.

To check the architecture of the installed Linux OS on your computer, run one of the following commands in a terminal.

Date of publication: October 2014
Translation: Semenenko V.
Transfer date: May 2015

It is always useful to know at least the basic characteristics of the operating system under which you work on the computer. For example, you may need to know the bitness of the operating system - 32-bit or 64-bit? This is for the case when, when installing an additional program, you need to select which bit program you need to download in order to install it on the system.

Of course, the Ubuntu Software Center has a large variety of programs for the Ubuntu Linux operating system. However, sometimes you may need to install a program from a third-party source that offers a choice of both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the same program. And which version of the program should I choose in this case?

This article will describe several ways to determine whether the Linux operating system is 32-bit or 64-bit. Some of these methods provide even more information than just the system's bit capacity.

The first two methods use the uname console command, which displays the required information in a terminal window. If you need to get more information about the system, you need to run the uname command with the -a flag:

$ uname -a

As a result, the terminal window will display information in the following order:

operating system kernel name
machine network name (hostname)
operating system kernel release number
operating system kernel version
car name
CPU type
platform
operating system

In the list displayed by the command, the system bit depth is the first digits after the local time of the machine (the images in the article are clickable):

For example, if the system is 64-bit, then in the console it will be indicated as x86_64; if the system is 32-bit, then in the console it will be indicated as i686 or i386. Please note that in the output of the uname program, the type of central processor and platform are indicated in the same way as the bitness of the operating system.

If using the uname command you only need to get the bit depth of the operating system, then just run it in a terminal window with the -m flag:

$ uname -m

This command will display the name of the machine and, in addition, show the bitness of the operating system - 32-bit (i686 or i386) or 64-bit (x86_64):

The arch console command is similar to the uname command with the -m flag. The terminal window will also display the bitness of the operating system - 32-bit (i686 or i386) or 64-bit (x86_64). To do this, enter the name of the command arch in the console and run it by pressing the Enter key:

Another console command for displaying information about the bitness of the operating system is the file command, specifying the special argument /sbin/init. In the terminal window you need to enter a command like:

$ file /sbin/init

A lot of information will be displayed in the console, of which in this case only the first line is needed (more precisely, the beginning of this line) - ... ELF 64-bit LSB ... :

If for some reason the use of console commands is unacceptable, then you can use the graphical utilities included with any Linux operating system.

Translator's note: in this case, be prepared for the fact that in different Desktop Environments (GNOME Shell, Cinnamon, Xfce, KDE, Unity) and Window Managers (Enlightenment, Fluxbox, Xfce, and so on), the location of the necessary information may be different each time. Console utilities are more universal in this regard.

Let's consider obtaining information about the bitness of the operating system using Linux Mint 17.1 Cinnamon as an example. In the main menu of the system, select "System Settings". In the "System Settings" window that opens, find the "System Info" icon in the "Hardware" section. A window of the same name will open with information about the Linux operating system:

In the first line “Operating System” we see the type of operating system and its bit depth.

Greetings, dear readers! Today you will learn everything about system capacity. This will be another building block in your computer knowledge base. Many people are confused about the bit depth of operating systems and don’t even know how to determine it on their PC. We will help you understand what the system bit depth is, what bit depths there are, and what the difference is between them.

What is bit depth anyway? In computer science bit depth- this is the number of bits that can be simultaneously processed by a given device (in our case, the OS). Today there are only two bit operating systems. This 32-bit And 64-bit. This means that a 32-bit OS can only process 32 bits of information at a time. And accordingly, a 64-bit system is twice as large, i.e. 64 bits of information. But this is not the only and not the most important difference between operating systems of different bit depths.

Differences between x32 and x64 bit operating systems

The main difference between a 32-bit system and a 64-bit one is that the x32-bit system only works with 3.5 GB random access memory. Even if the system has 8 GB of RAM, the x32 can only max out about 3.5 GB of memory. 64-bit system supports up to 128 GB RAM.
A 64-bit system can run 64-bit applications. It launches and works with 32-bit applications with the same success.
A 32-bit system cannot run x64 applications.
64-bit systems have support for multi-core and multiprocessing
64-bit systems require the installation of special x64 drivers for devices.
The processor must have support for 64-bit systems.

Pros and cons of switching to a 64-bit system

There are more advantages and they are very convincing, as you will see now, but there are options in which the choice will be a winning one x32 systems.

pros

Support for large amounts of RAM (the biggest plus)
Launch and work with both 32-bit and 64-bit applications.
Noticeable performance gains on systems with multi-core processors.

Minuses

There may be problems finding compatible drivers (currently this risk has been practically reduced to zero)
The transition will not be justified if the system has 4 GB of RAM or less. The fact is that the 64-bit system itself and 64-bit programs consume RAM many times more than 32-bit ones. And the seemingly freed 0.5 GB of RAM will go to it. In such a situation, it is better to stay on the x32 system.

How to find out the system bit size on a PC?

Ways find out the system capacity There is a lot installed on the computer. For each OS they are naturally radically different. We will find out the bit depth on Windows operating systems, and also, as a bonus, on Linux OS. But first, let's look at the designations of the system capacity adopted in the IT field.

Bit capacity designations: x32, x64, x86.

As you probably guessed from the article, a 32-bit OS is designated as x32, and a 64-bit OS as x64. But very often the 32-bit system is designated as x86. On the Internet, some users understand x32 and x86 to be the same system. It is not right. x86 is the microprocessor architecture and hardware platform. It can be applied to both 32-bit and 64-bit programs.
The fact is that the names of the first processors Intel 86 was always assigned at the end (for example I8086 or 80386, etc.) In the future, even when processors from Intel began to be called Pentium, the platform continued to be designated as such. From there, this incorrect designation has survived to this day. The correct notation for 32-bit systems should be x86_32 and for 64-bit respectively x86_64 or just x32 and x64.

Let's find out the bit depth of the system on Windows.

On Windows of all versions, the bit depth can be found by simply right-clicking on the shortcut My computer and selecting " Properties". The system window will open.

In this window in the item " System type" and will be indicated capacity of your system.
On XP, the bit depth in this paragraph will only be indicated if the system 64-bit.

Finding out the bit capacity of the system on Linux

Basically the user linux should by default know such little things. But suddenly, if he forgot, I’ll remind him. There are several ways find out the system capacity on linux . We will consider only one.
Let's use the terminal. You can open it through the panel by going to " Applications->Standard->Terminal"or the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + Alt + T.
In the terminal, type the command uname -m and press Enter

The machine name and system bit size will be displayed.