32-bit x64 processor operating system: limitations and what this means

Having a 32-bit operating system and an x64 processor is honestly not the most common thing today, although there may be users who don't understand very well what the implications of a CPU architecture and that of the operating system have. That is why we are going to make this article, in which everything will be a little clearer.

Index of contents

And there are not only 32 and 64 bit processors and operating systems, but also applications. In fact, if we look at the main folders of the system we will see that there is the folder of program files and program files (x86). What does this mean? Well, we'll see everything here.

What is x86 architecture

Let's start by looking at the basics of what x86 architecture is all about and what influence it has on processors.

As we all know, the processor is a hardware element of a computer made up of countless transistor integrated circuits and logic gates. All this framework makes up what becomes the central processing unit, in which millions and calculations are performed every second that allow the instructions and programs that are installed on the hard drive of our computer to be shaped. The processor is therefore the element that gives intelligence to our team, and is in charge of making our actions make sense.

The x86 architecture is basically about the way processors are built internally at the most basic level - that is, the way the internal elements that make up a processor communicate. These elements are the registers, the arithmetic-logic unit, the program counter, etc.

The important thing, and that you must take into account, is that an x86 processor does not imply that it is 32 or 64 bits, at all, this concept is something different from the physical architecture of the processor. In fact, the first processor built with x86 architecture was the Intel 8086, which was a 16-bit CPU .

CISC and RISC processor

To expand a bit, it's worth knowing what a processor that works with CISC and RISC instructions is, as it has a lot to do with the x86 architecture.

CISC processor

Precisely a CISC processor uses the x86 architecture, stands for Complex Instruction Set Computer. It is a model of processor that is capable of working with a very broad set of instructions, thus being able to carry out complex operations between those operated in RAM and internal registers. These CPUs are the ones that have always been made by Intel and AMD.

This architecture is aimed at computers that work with desktop-based operating systems and that work primarily with graphics, since the complexity of instructions in them is greater and better performance is obtained. But they have a problem, and that is that having such complex instructions makes it more difficult to do parallel operations, with several cores. And for this reason, today's processors are also able to translate CISC instructions into RISC. The advantages of this architecture are that they are better at compiling and compacting code, and it makes debugging easier and programs are easier to run.

RISC processor

In contrast, a processor with RISC architecture, Reduced Instruction Set Computer, presents a much smaller range of instructions and is easier to carry out. These processors are oriented to carry out several instructions in parallel, segmented and thus reduce the number of accesses to the system memory.

This CPU was built by PowerPC for example for the first Unix systems and servers. They execute instructions faster and allow for larger caches. In addition, the encoding of instructions is faster, as the entire system is simpler and more uniform in terms of the variety of instructions, but the truth is that, in programming tasks, the RISC architecture is much more complex, requiring the practitioner to use assembler as source code.

What is a 32 or 64 bit CPU

Before we move further away from the main topic on processors, let's get back to and definitely see the differences between the two processors. In addition, we already know that x86 has nothing to do with being 32 or 64 bits, in fact, the processors that are 64 bits are called x86_64, because it is an x86 architecture but it works with a 64 word width. bits. Oh now we'll see.

Being a 32 or 64 bit processor lies in the length with which data and instructions are stored and processed in the processor. It goes without saying that the CPU only understands electrical signals 1/0 current / non-current so to speak, and each of these numbers are called bits, having only two states, these bits join together to form words and thus increase the variety of instructions thanks to multi-bit combinations.

In a 32-bit processor there are words that combine 32 zeros and ones while in a 64-bit one, because those words are twice as big, so they have, let's say, twice as much information in them. This means that the capacity of a 64-bit processor is multiplied by two, by being able to do more tasks in less time, but it also has other very important implications in terms of memory capacity and instruction addressing.

Limitations of the Operating System 32-bit x64 processor

There are physical and logical differences when using a 32 or 64 bit processor. And these directly affect the operating system as well. Let's see what they are and why it is not recommended to use different architectures.

RAM memory limitation

The first difference lies in the management of RAM memory and also of virtual memory. If we have a 32-bit CPU, it will only be able to read 2 ³² combinations of numbers, that is, 4, 294, 967, 296 cells of memory, or what has been 4 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, a 64-bit CPU will theoretically be able to read 2 ^64- cell data, about 16 million Terabytes (16 Exabytes)

What does this imply when installing a 32 or 64 bit operating system? Current operating systems and available hardware are not able to reach these figures due to physical limits. What's more, Windows 10 Pro is capable of addressing just 512 GB of RAM. Apparently, we will not have problems, because the current PC motherboards support about 128 GB of RAM.

In any case, a PC made up of a CPU and a 32-bit operating system only supports 4 GB of RAM, and this does affect us directly, because at present we could practically not survive with this tiny amount of RAM on our PC. And we can see this immediately by creating a virtual machine with a 64-bit CPU and a 32-bit system, notice.

In the properties we are informed that we have 3.5 GB of installed RAM (500 MB are for GPU). But if we look at the other capture, we have assigned the virtual machine 6 GB, that is, there are two 2 GB that are not even used, because the word width of 32 is not capable of addressing more than 4, 294, 967, 296 cells of memory.

In any case, these limits for 64-bit systems are much more extensive, we have already seen 512 GB for Windows 10 Pro. But in server-oriented systems it is much more extended, Windows Server 2016 for example supports up to 24 TB of RAM, And in Linux the exact same thing happens, although both the desktop and server systems support several TB of RAM, it is the advantage of being free software.

Virtual memory for applications

There is also a limitation in the allocation of virtual memory per process. Be careful, we are not talking about the virtual memory of the system, the one that we allocate on the hard disk in case we lack RAM, but that RAM that is automatically assigned by applications that consume many resources. An example of this are applications such as Photoshop, or BIM or CAD programs where a lot of memory is needed to store textures and processes in the background.

Specifically, a 32-bit operating system can only allocate 2 GB of virtual memory for each program, while a 64-bit system is theoretically capable of allocating up to 8 TB.

Application compatibility

But it is not only about addressing RAM memory, there are also obvious limitations regarding the application support for the operating system. The first thing we can do to notice it is go to the local hard drive in a 64-bit operating system and another 32.

If you look at the 32-bit file there is only one folder for the program files, while the 64-bit file has two, and in one of them put x86. It should really put 32, the case is that a 32-bit system does not support 64-bit applications, while a 64-bit system, yes we can install 32 and 64-bit applications.

We have made the example with the 7-Zip compressor, downloading the x64 version for Windows 8 of 32 that we have installed. We see that it immediately indicates that this application is not supported. And you will say, the CPU itself is 64 bits. Why doesn't it work? Well, because the operating system is in the first instance the one that decodes the instructions that it is going to send to the CPU, and if it is 32, it will not be able to work at 64.

Can I install a 64-bit operating system on a 32-bit machine?

Well obviously not, you just have to perform the test by downloading a Windows ISO and trying to run it on your computer. it is not possible and immediately a screen appears indicating you in detail.

And of course, a 32-bit system can be installed on a 64-bit computer.

How to tell if I have a 64-bit CPU or operating system

By now you probably already know how to look at this, thanks to the screenshots we have seen throughout the article, but if you want to know more information about how to check this in both Windows and Linux, we invite you to do it using this article.

In any case, it is not necessary to look at it either, since, for example, if we have a computer from about ten years ago, we will be 100% sure that it will be 64 bits. Today, virtually all desktops have 64-bit hardware inside, and we only find 32-bit CPUs for devices as basic as programmable microcontrollers, wearables like activity wristbands or smart watches, mice and keyboards, or the occasional NAS or basic DAS.

Conclusion and recommendations about 32-bit x64 processor operating system

Well our recommendation of course is to make sure that our equipment is 64 bits and always install a 64 bit operating system and applications. This is basic to be able to take advantage of all the power of our team, and not keep it only half or less than its possibilities.

Now we leave you with some interesting tutorials and guides in case you want to take a look at them.

Well, here comes our little article explaining the limitations of a 32-bit operating system on an x64 processor. If you have any questions, or want to add something that is missing, leave us a comment below.