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Add wikipedia link for 64 bit architecture (#32416)

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Add Wikipedia link for "64-bit architecture" to ensure a curious reader is guided to appropriate and pertinent reading material.
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Lucas Thompson
2019-03-28 04:36:23 -04:00
committed by The Coding Aviator
parent e84ae45008
commit 301ec55a38
1 changed files with 1 additions and 1 deletions
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guide/english/computer-hardware/cpu/index.md
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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ CPU speeds are measured in **gigahertz (GHz)**. For every gigahertz of speed, a
[Gigahertz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz) is not the only determining factor in the actual speed of a processor, as different processors with the same gigahertz speed (also known as <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_rate'>clock speed)</a> can perform real-world tasks at different speeds due to using different sets of instructions to perform these tasks. These instruction sets are called **CPU architectures**.
Most modern CPUs use a 64-bit architecture, which means they use 64-bit long memory addresses. Older CPUs used 32-bit, 16-bit, and even 8-bit architectures. The largest number a 64-bit CPU can store is 18,446,744,073,709,552,000. A CPU needs memory addresses to get specified values from the [**Random Access Memory (RAM)**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random-access_memory). If we call the length of the memory addresses n, 2^n is the number of memory cells a CPU can address.
Most modern CPUs use a <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit_computing'>64-bit architecture</a>, which means they use 64-bit long memory addresses. Older CPUs used 32-bit, 16-bit, and even 8-bit architectures. The largest number a 64-bit CPU can store is 18,446,744,073,709,552,000. A CPU needs memory addresses to get specified values from the [**Random Access Memory (RAM)**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random-access_memory). If we call the length of the memory addresses n, 2^n is the number of memory cells a CPU can address.
An instruction cycle for a CPU is called the [fetch-decode-execute cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instruction_cycle) - where the computer retrieves an instruction from its memory, determines which instruction it fetched and what it does, and then carries out said instructions.