Talk:32-bit computing

Untitled

during which time still doesn't really roll of the tongue, ne? Maybe it still needs some more refrasing. We are trying to get accross that:

1. During an extended period of time mostly 32-bit consumer computers were fabricated.
2. That 32-bit is a designation for the collective of those computers.

Shinobu 21:11, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I agree. I dislike it. It sounds like corporatese. Changing to "in which" here is enough to fix it. --Shlomital 12:52, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

Incorrect logic

The previous author tried to make a convoluted connection between 4 billion bits and 4 GB of Random Access memory which is completely incorrect and will confused people.

108.17.109.131 (talk) 14:42, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

32-bit applications for Windows 95/98

Windows 95 and Windows 98 weren't "applications", they were operating systems with a mix of 16-bit and 32-bit code. They supported both 16-bit (DOS and Win16) and 32-bit (Win32) applications. Guy Harris (talk) 19:01, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

32-bit applications for Mac OS

Mac OS supported applications with at least 24-bit pointers, and later versions supported applications with 32-bit pointers; the 68000 and all later 68k processors, and the PowerPC processors, supported 32-bit arithmetic as well, so the apps for the Mac weren't 16-bit apps. Guy Harris (talk) 19:01, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

For example, Office 95 was available in 32-bit form. Guy Harris (talk) 21:46, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Adding to the History of 32 bit

This article is kinda short, someone should add a part on when 32-bit first became created & common & what kind of results that had on computers. T97π (talk) 04:13, 26 September 2013 (UTC)

"When 32-bit first became created" - that was at least 1964, and may have been before that. Interestingly, it had fewer bits per word than IBM's previous line of mainframe computers. Guy Harris (talk) 04:29, 26 September 2013 (UTC)

And the main effect the 32-bitness of S/360 had on computers was that it popularized the 8-bit byte, although that was not just a consequence of its 32-bitness, it was also a consequence of it using byte addressing. That byte size was adopted also by a number of 16-bit byte-addressable processors, such as the PDP-11. Guy Harris (talk) 07:43, 26 September 2013 (UTC)

Is the lead invisible for anyone else?

I click Edit, and it's just not there. But "{{N-bit|32|(4 [[Octet (computing)|octets]])}}" is. Unless it's just me, someone should fix that. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:58, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

The first two sentences of the introductory paragraph come from the {{N-bit}} template. Guy Harris (talk) 02:30, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

Needlessly complicated. Fancy, though. Thanks. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:58, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

Copy Edits

@Sławomir Biały

I am unsure exactly how you feel the 80386 segmentation account was "mangled". The original meaning appears unchanged.

I believe you are mistaken about what HDR means for image formats. All formats specify a brightness value on a scale from off to full brightness. HDR formats cannot increase the maximum brightness of a pixel, they can only specify the brightness more precisely.

As for the "an 36 bit wide" and other grammar mistakes, it would have been much more constructive for you to correct that yourself, rather than revert all changes. It appears you have been much too trigger-happy with reversions. Safety In Obscurity (talk) 08:31, 20 July 2026 (UTC)

"The 80386 and successors support the 80286's 16-bit segments reuse the technique for 32-bit address offsets" is syntactically incoherent, and deletes the distinction between inherited 16-bit segments and the 80386’s 32-bit-offset segments. Your HDR explanation is wrong/misleading: 32-bit HDR doesn't simply divide the range between black and white more precisely, but includes overluminance above reference white. Additionally, your edit introduced a number of grammatical errors. Sławomir Biały (talk) 09:11, 20 July 2026 (UTC)

Talk is cheap, send corrections. Work with me here!

HDR doesn't simply divide the range more precisely, but its digital formats (which we're talking about) do. Safety In Obscurity (talk) 09:25, 20 July 2026 (UTC)