Computer processors are varied in their designs and functionality which is the reason they have different processing capabilities. There are two main types of processor architecture with different abilities and this is the 32 bit and the 64-bit architecture. As a computer operates using the basis of binary number representation of the information, a 32bit computer or processor has fewer cores and data pipelines as compared to the 64-bit information processor. With the 32 bit processor, the number of bits that can be processed at a time is lesser than that processed by the 64-bit processor.
In terms of graphics processing, the 64-bit computer is far advanced and more capable of handling high definition graphics as compared to the 32-bit computer and this is the reason 64-bit computers are used by game developers and animation film producers for the reason they work quietly but really fast in shifting bits. The main purpose of the 64-bit architecture is to process information at double the rate of the 32-bit computer and all these processing capabilities provide for a computer that is able to multitask and run all the programs in parallel without any degradation or reduction in the performance level of the processor.
32-bit architecture has programs that are simple and whenever a computer user is installing software for a 32-bit processor, the software will be installed to take advantage of the nature of the processor such as the number of cores or the instructions it is capable of handling in a second. 64-bit architecture is much more powerful and capable of handling more instructions per second and really useful for fast and complex scientific computations. There is a clear difference between the two types of processor architectures and this becomes evident with the software that can run on each architecture.
64-bit programs cannot be run on a 32-bit computer as the requirements for the 64-bit programs are more advanced and cannot be handled by the 32-bit computer. 32-bit programs, however, can be run on 64-bit hardware as the compatibility runs forward. 64-bit programs are not backward compatible and this means that only the hardware designed to run 64-bit software will be capable of running and handling the information systems that are designed for 64-bit processing architecture without slowing or developing performance issues.
In conclusion, there happen to be two different computer processing architectures and this includes the 32-bit architecture and the 64-bit architecture. The two are different in the number of instructions each processor handles per second as well as the capabilities of each of the hardware architectures. Also, the software cannot run on a 32-bit processor if it is meant for a 64-bit processor but 32-bit programs can still fit into a 64-bit processor. This is what makes the difference and marks the advance in processing capabilities for modern types of computer processors.
