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maybe 4 to 12 terabytes of hard drive space,
(Continued from page 10)
the 64-bit architecture will probably take us
externally for I/O.) PCs that followed used pretty far into the future.
the 8086 CPU which was a true 16-bit pro-
cessor. 32-bit computers started to appear If one were purchasing a new computer, the
as early as 1985 with the Intel 386 CPU. Im- best situation would be a 64-bit hardware ar-
provements in the 32-bit architecture contin- chitecture with a 64-bit OS and all 64-bit driv-
ued from the mid 1980s till the 64-bit pro- ers. You would probably get this if you bought
cessor arrived in 2003. The 64-bit architec- a middle to high end PC from a popular com-
ture has been improved over the past 15 pany like HP, Dell, or Lenovo. Low end or
years and the cost has been reduced to the economy models might have a 32-bit or a 64-
point where almost every PC produced to- bit architecture. Note that if the amount of in-
day has a 64-bit CPU in it. If you are looking stalled memory was over 4 GB then it would
for a new computer, definitely go for the 64- have to be a 64-bit architecture. If one did
bit architecture. (You can find the architec- purchase a PC with a 32-bit architecture it
ture and OS information in Settings-System- would probably have a 32-bit OS installed.
About. In this window, “System type” will Knowing what OS is installed on your PC is
show the number of bits for the processor, important if you are installing new software. If
and also the number of bits for the OS.) your new software is built for a 64-bit OS, it
will only run on a 64-bit OS; it will probably
The number of bits in a particular PC archi- not run on a 32-bit OS. If your new software
tecture indicates the number of bits used in is built for a 32-bit OS then it will probably run
calculations and the number of bits used to on a 32-bit OS or a 64-bit OS. Sometimes a
address an item in memory. So, a 64-bit ar- software vendor will make two versions avail-
chitecture has a 64-bit Arithmetic/Logical able, one for the 32-bit OS and a different
Unit at the heart of the CPU and can ad- one for the 64-bit OS. So, if you can find it in
dress up to 2^64 or 16 exabytes in memory. your price range, a 64-bit architecture with a
(Note, not all PCs are built to take ad- 64-bit OS and 12 GB of RAM and a 1TB hard
vantage of this large memory space, in fact drive would probably satisfy almost every-
most are limited by their hardware design to one’s needs, except maybe for a few very se-
less than 512 Gigabytes.) An Exabyte is a rious gamers.
very large number it is a million-million Tera-
bytes. To put it in perspective, see the fol-
lowing table:
“Members Helping Members”
ChomChom Roller
Worlds Best Pet Hair Remover
By Jasmine D’Katz
On top of the hardware limitation, which is
not really very limiting, the Operating Sys-
tem in use places some limitations. The fol-
lowing table shows the limitations for some
of the popular versions of Windows 10: During a conversation at our March
meeting, Linda K was talking to DeBorah S about a de-
vice to remove cat hair. I intervened and ask Linda to
send me the info.
I ordered and received one today and upon first use on
the carpeted stairs, in just a few minutes I had filled up
So, considering the number of items or the storage compartment.
bytes that we currently concern ourselves (Continued on page 8)
with, 4 to 32 gigabytes of RAM memory, and
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