What is 64-bit? [1]
64-bit [3] is a common measure of computer information and an attribute of computer systems.
Each bit can have two values so 64 bits can have 264 values. This is equivalent to over 18 quintillion (billion times billion) values.
| How 64-bit values compare with others | |||
| Number of bits |
Decimal Base-10 |
Hexadecimal Base-16 |
|
| 8 | 256 | 100 | |
| 16 | 65,536 | 10,000 | |
| 32 | 4,294,967,296 | 100,000,000 | |
| 64 | 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 | 10,000,000,000,000,000 | |
| Common uses of 64-bits | |
| Category | Description |
| CPU |
64-bit CPUs process information 64-bits at a time. This was the most common computer processor through most of the 1990s until the late 2000s. |
| CPU support |
64-bit graphics cards are common. |
| Software |
All Microsoft Windows desktop versions from Windows XP have 64-bit options. Windows Server versions are increasingly 64-bit only. |
| Communications and networking |
IPv6 has a 64-bit routing prefix and a 64-bit interface suffix which will replace older 48-bit identifiers (MAC addresses are 48-bit). |
| Displays |
64-bit displays don't exist. |
| Imaging |
64-bit imaging, if it exists, is overkill. |
| Audio |
64-bit audio, if it exists, is overkill. |
| Cryptography |
64-bit cryptography such as WEP and DES have been too easy to crack and has been replaced by 128-bit products. |
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