what are 32 and 64-bits in computers and what difference do they make?

Question

Does it make the computer faster? And how are they different from 8 and 16-bit video game consoles?

In: 2446

Answer 1

A “bit” is a single piece of information, in a binary computer it is either on or off, 0 or 1.

The expression 8 bit or 16 bit refers to how many of these piece of information a computer can deal with in one action.

so 8 bits means the computer can handle data 8 characters wide:

8 = 10001000

16 = 1000100010001000

32 = 10001000100010001000100010001000

64 = 1000100010001000100010001000100010001000100010001000100010001000

so the more bits the more information a computer can process at one instant.

Speed is also determined by how many times per second the compute reads or does an action on this piece of information, this is typically referred to in the “Mega Hertz” or “Giga hertz”

So more information can go through a computer if the computer can handle larger and larger numbers at the same time (more bits) or can process faster (more hertz)