A 32-bit microprocessor processes 32 bits of data in one operation: its registers, ALU and data path are 32 bits wide. Examples: Intel 80386 / 80486, ARM Cortex-A and Cortex-M families.
Key characteristics
- 32-bit registers and ALU: integers up to 2³² − 1 (about 4.29 billion) handled in one step.
- 32-bit address bus typically, so 2³² bytes = 4 GB of directly addressable memory.
- Wide data bus moving 32 bits per transfer, so higher throughput than 8/16-bit parts.
- Memory management: protected mode, paging and virtual memory (e.g. 80386 onwards).
- Pipelining, on-chip cache and often a floating-point unit for speed.
- Multitasking support suited to full operating systems.
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