How can I determine if my processor is 64 or 32 bit?

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How do I know that my CPU supports 64bit operating systems under Linux?

I am running Debian Squeeze, how can I determine whether my processor is 64 or 32-bit? I'm thinking of downloading a 64-bit OS because it's said to perform better.

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 17 '13 at 16:36

13

Type grep lm /proc/cpuinfo (lm stands for long mode)

Or just try booting with a 64-bit OS: if you do not have 64-bit support, it will say so and not boot.

lm: Long Mode (x86-64: amd64, also known as Intel 64, i.e. 64-bit capable)

edited Jun 17 '13 at 16:36

djangofan

4,147

answered May 11 '12 at 12:30

Renan

17,136

look what happen when i've used this comand – Zignd May 11 '12 at 12:34
The lm flag is there, that means your system supports 64-bit. – Renan May 11 '12 at 12:37
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it's not true i tried uname -m and it show me i686 exactly as @cjc said – Zignd May 11 '12 at 12:41
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uname -m refers to the architecture of the currently running kernel, if you'rre running a 32-bits kernel it will show i686 even if you CPU supports 64-bit. – Renan May 11 '12 at 12:45
so it means my computer suport 64 bits, thanks for the answer – Zignd May 11 '12 at 12:49
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@Zignd uname -m can even show i686 to a process on an x86_64 processor running an x86_64 kernel, if the process (or an ancestor) called setpersonality. – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' May 11 '12 at 23:11
@Gilles I didn't know about setpersonality. Very interesting – Renan May 11 '12 at 23:41
Try uname -p (as in --processor) per this Linux man page I stumbled upon with Google. Another fun diversion is uname -a and then try to remember which options correspond to which returned values. ;-) – irrational John May 12 '12 at 06:07

How can I determine if my processor is 64 or 32 bit?

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