X86 or x64??

[cygnus7]

When we type systeminfo in the command prompt, we get the system details in which there is a detail called System Type. On some machines(considering only 64-bit processors) it shows x86 based and on some x64 based. Isnt x64 just microsoft's way of referring to x86-64?? What is the difference between the two, if there is one??

 

[rohn_avni]

x86 = 32 bit, and x64= 64 bit.....

 

[cjl]

The OS itself can be either 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64), even if all the CPUs are X64 capable.

 

[Nils]

64 bit is recommended when you install 4GB or more of ram. It's because a 32 bit will usually see up to about 3.5GB, even if more is installed.

64 bit OS's can run both 64 as 32 bit programs, whereas 32 bit OS's only run 32 bit software.

Also, 64 bit software usually runs faster than 32 bit.

 

[cygnus7]

The OS itself can be either 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64), even if all the CPUs are X64 capable.

But im using a 64 bit os and so is my friend. He has Intel C2D T6600 and i hav AMD Turion II X2, both again 64 bit.But on his, it shows x86 based pc and on mine x64 based pc. Why??

 

[cjl]

Are you sure his is a 64 bit OS? That's the only thing I can think of that would cause it.

 

[rohn_avni]

64 bit will give more memory bandwidth.... but some games like C&C tiberium wars will not run or having problems on 64 bit. and you will need drivers for ur mobo in 64 bit......

 

[loneninja]

64 bit will give more memory bandwidth.... but some games like C&C tiberium wars will not run or having problems on 64 bit. and you will need drivers for ur mobo in 64 bit......

I can tell you first hand all the CnC games in the first decade pack, and C&C 3 Tiberium wars work just fine in a 64bit OS, so does every other game I own all the way back to starcraft. There's a few games released through EA that fail to create the options.ini file, but its easy to create yourself.

OP, if your in windows it should list if your on 32 or 64bit under system information found within the control panel.

 

[rohn_avni]

I can tell you first hand all the CnC games in the first decade pack, and C&C 3 Tiberium wars work just fine in a 64bit OS, so does every other game I own all the way back to starcraft. There's a few games released through EA that fail to create the options.ini file, but its easy to create yourself.

OP, if your in windows it should list if your on 32 or 64bit under system information found within the control panel.

well i don't buy tiberium wars, i have a compress installation and i tried it in vista sp2 64 bit it did not work. but then i install win 7 32 bit and it worked fine...

i also can tell u fast hand that,
here it says in read me file, read then comment... bye the way it's kanes wrath....

System Requirements
==================================================================

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath requires DirectX 9.0c. You can
install DirectX 9.0c by following the onscreen prompts during the
game's installation process.

REQUIRED SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS:

· OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista (32-bit; 64-bit versions of
Windows Vista are not supported)

· CPU (Single Core): Intel P4 2.0 GHz or AMD Athlon 2000+ for
Windows XP / Intel P4 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 2200+ for Windows
Vista

 

[welshmousepk]

well i don't buy tiberium wars, i have a compress installation and i tried it in vista sp2 64 bit it did not work. but then i install win 7 32 bi blah blah blah

off topic and irrelevant.

OP, sounds like your friend has a 32 Bit OS installed.

 

[rohn_avni]

off topic and irrelevant.

OP, sounds like your friend has a 32 Bit OS installed.

i know it's off topic but my friend i am just saying that official read me of kane's wrath says that the game is not supported under 64 bit vista..... and loneninja goes off the topic just tell him first then come to me.....

 

[cygnus7]

Are you sure his is a 64 bit OS? That's the only thing I can think of that would cause it.

He has Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

 

[welshmousepk]

Did he install it himself? he's sure its 64-bit?

It seems like the only reason Sysinfo would report x86 is because its running a 32-bit OS. i really cannot think of anything that could cause it to report incorrectly.

 

[cygnus7]

Did he install it himself? he's sure its 64-bit?

It seems like the only reason Sysinfo would report x86 is because its running a 32-bit OS. i really cannot think of anything that could cause it to report incorrectly.

Im 100% sure coz he did it in front of me..

 

[saaiello]

The term x86 refers to a family of instruction set architectures[2] based on the Intel 8086. The 8086 was launched in 1978 as a fully 16-bit extension of Intel's early 8-bit based microprocessors and also introduced segmentation to overcome the 16-bit addressing barrier of earlier chips. The term x86 derived from the fact that early successors to the 8086 also had names ending in "86". Many additions and extensions have been added to the x86 instruction set over the years.

I believe on AMD systems it will show up as x86-64 so if thats what you see in system info then its a 64bit OS. Also an easy way to tell is if you have 4 GB of memory installed and you see it all then its a 64bit OS.

 

[cygnus7]

The term x86 refers to a family of instruction set architectures[2] based on the Intel 8086. The 8086 was launched in 1978 as a fully 16-bit extension of Intel's early 8-bit based microprocessors and also introduced segmentation to overcome the 16-bit addressing barrier of earlier chips. The term x86 derived from the fact that early successors to the 8086 also had names ending in "86". Many additions and extensions have been added to the x86 instruction set over the years.

I believe on AMD systems it will show up as x86-64 so if thats what you see in system info then its a 64bit OS. Also an easy way to tell is if you have 4 GB of memory installed and you see it all then its a 64bit OS.

Thanks very much for that. I guess thats coz of d difference of the processors, rite??
Also, if in the systeminfo it shows total available memory as 4 gb(which is installed), then os is 64 bit rite?? And also, it shows that available physical memory is 2.9 gb..y is that??

 

[saaiello]

Thanks very much for that. I guess thats coz of d difference of the processors, rite??
Also, if in the systeminfo it shows total available memory as 4 gb(which is installed), then os is 64 bit rite?? And also, it shows that available physical memory is 2.9 gb..y is that??

Go to task manager and under the performance tab you will see resource monitor. Open that then go to memory tab and you will see what is using your memory.

 

[runswindows95]

Only 2.9GB out of 4GB usable? Sounds like he is running a 32-bit OS.

 

[cygnus7]

Only 2.9GB out of 4GB usable? Sounds like he is running a 32-bit OS.

Nope...64 bit 101% sure... ..
in msinfo32.exe, it shows total and installed physical memories as 4gb..only available memory is close to 3gb

 

[cygnus7]

Also, if os is 32 bit with 4gb ram, then will it show total and installed physical memories as 4gb??

 

[cjl]

Yep.

In Task Manager, under the "Performance" tab, how much total physical memory does it show?

 

[cygnus7]

Yep.

In Task Manager, under the "Performance" tab, how much total physical memory does it show?

Total memory shown is 4 gb..
also in my friends laptop, in msinfo32.exe, it shows installed memory as 4 gb and total physical memory as 3 gb while in mine both are 4gb..

 

[descendency]

What North bridge is on the mainboard?

I think that's your problem.

The term x86 comes from 80x86 which refers to the instruction set that the processor uses. The x is there because there are different 80x86 instruction sets. 80486 came just before the pentium chips were released. The "x86" is a shortening of 80x86. The "x86-64" is a way of differentiating between the 32 bit instruction set (sometimes referred to as x86-32, although not commonly) and the 64 bit ones (sometimes called x64). There was also an x86-16, but it has long since been dead.

edit: My opinion was that your friend has a north bridge that has an old 32-bit memory controller (uncommon, but possible - sadly) which is causing only 32 bits of memory to be addressed (1.1 gb of it is in other spots). However, with a T6600 being from the beginning of last year... I doubt that now.

Here are the 4 possibilities:
His CPU is 32 bit
His memory controller is 32 bit
His OS is 32 bit
His BIOS is corrupt.

The first is clearly false. (Intel's website says so) The last is unlikely as it reports 4 gb shown. The middle two are the most common. Since you are sure his OS is 64 bit, then I would guess it was the memory controller. I can't tell unless you know what motherboard he has.

 

[cygnus7]

What North bridge is on the mainboard?

I think that's your problem.

The term x86 comes from 80x86 which refers to the instruction set that the processor uses. The x is there because there are different 80x86 instruction sets. 80486 came just before the pentium chips were released. The "x86" is a shortening of 80x86. The "x86-64" is a way of differentiating between the 32 bit instruction set (sometimes referred to as x86-32, although not commonly) and the 64 bit ones (sometimes called x64). There was also an x86-16, but it has long since been dead.

edit: My opinion was that your friend has a north bridge that has an old 32-bit memory controller (uncommon, but possible - sadly) which is causing only 32 bits of memory to be addressed (1.1 gb of it is in other spots). However, with a T6600 being from the beginning of last year... I doubt that now.

Here are the 4 possibilities:
His CPU is 32 bit
His memory controller is 32 bit
His OS is 32 bit
His BIOS is corrupt.

The first is clearly false. (Intel's website says so) The last is unlikely as it reports 4 gb shown. The middle two are the most common. Since you are sure his OS is 64 bit, then I would guess it was the memory controller. I can't tell unless you know what motherboard he has.

hey..thanks...that was quite clear..
ill see whats his motherboard..plus, as i said, in msinfo32 on his computer, it shows only 3gb total emory and 4bg installed memory..so i guess ur rite bout d memory controller being 32 bit..

 

[cygnus7]

Best answer selected by cygnus7.