How to know if you have 32 or 64 bit cpu in windows, mac and linux

One of those big dilemmas that we have when we want to install a program or operating is… is my CPU 32 or 64 bit ? Surely you have ever asked yourself this question, since not everyone understands computers and you may be in trouble as to which version to choose and which one is appropriate for your PC. To find out, the first thing you should check is what type of processor you have, whether 32 or 64 bits.

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We recommend reading our guides:

• Best processors on the market. Best motherboards on the market. Best RAM memory of the moment. Best SSD drives of the moment. Best graphics cards on the market.

Do you want to install a program but you don't know whether to download it in 32 or 64 bits? As of today the doubts are over, because although most current PCs come with 64 bits, some 32-bit could sneak in. And even if you have 64 bits, 32-bit software could still work (although it could also cause problems).

How to tell if you have a 32 or 64 bit CPU

In our guide to the best processors on the market we explain many of the characteristics that you should take into account. However, we also invite you to follow our post to be fully up to date. ?

Verify processor in Windows

To know what type of CPU you have in Windows, you have to do the following:

• Open your Windows PC> Control Panel> System and Security> System.

From here you will see all the information on your computer, so you know if it is a 32 or 64 bit PC.

If 64-bit appears congratulations, because it is better than 32 bits and you will be able to download all the programs and distributions in these bits. If instead 32-bit appears, you'll have to do a little more research from it to Advanced System Settings . In the system variables section you will have to find PROCESSOR_ARQUITECTURE, if it says x86 it is a 32-bit system, otherwise it is a 64-bit system. By following this process, you will have found out successfully.

Another option is to download Everest for Windows, which gives you all the information on your computer and can be very comfortable, especially to know the full requirements, and have it all at the click of a button through a program.

Check processor in Linux

On Linux it is super easy. You just have to open a terminal or command console and type the command: Iscpu. This command returns the information about the architecture of your PC, and if it can run 32-bit or 64-bit. If it appears that you have 64-bit, then you can download and install 64-bit programs without problem, if it appears 32-bit, then the processor is 32-bit and you can only download programs compatible with these bits.

For example, use the cpuinfo command and all the information from your processor will appear.

cat / proc / cpuinfo

While with lscpu it will tell you all the CPU information, from the architecture, the model, the number of processors, virtualization support and cache memory in L1, L2 and L3.

Check processor on Mac OSX

If you want to know it on Mac, you just have to click from the Apple icon and then About this Mac. From this window you will be able to know the data of your computer, to know if you have a 32 or 64 bit processor.

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If it does not appear (in the case of having a different Mac version), you can try this other trick: open a command console and type the command uname -an, it will return the type of architecture of your computer. Outcome:

This command returns the information of the processor, in the previous case we are facing an x86_64, which means that it is 64 bits. If this appears to you, you will be able to install 64-bit programs.

As you can see, it is very easy to know if your CPU is 32 or 64 bits. You will only have to follow the previous steps depending on the operating system you have, be it Windows, Linux or Mac. In these last two it is much faster, but as you can see, it is quite easy to find this information.

It is important to keep this in mind, especially when buying a new PC. We recommend that you buy your PC with a 64-bit CPU (They all already are, but if you choose a second hand, keep that in mind). As we say at the moment most already come with this architecture. But check it out before checking out !!!

Of course, if you have doubts about whether your computer is 32 or 64 bits you can leave us a comment.