What is the difference between X64 and ARM64

Lindane 46

When I run my UWP app in Visual Studio, I can choose ARM and X64, X86. And there is a new one called ARM64. When do we need to use the ARM64?

Fay Wang - MSFT 5,191 Reputation points

2020-03-02T08:27:37.313+00:00

Hi, does the answer make sense? Do you have other questions?
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Michelle Schmidt 0 Reputation points

2023-03-30T16:42:20.0966667+00:00

I do actually; for "mobile devices"; can that be expanded out toward a 256 GB USB Drive as well?
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4 answers

Fay Wang - MSFT 5,191 Reputation points

2020-02-27T06:37:03.923+00:00

Hello,

Welcome to our Microsoft Q&A platform!

Like x86 and x64, ARM is a different processor (CPU) architecture. The ARM architecture is typically used to build CPUs for a mobile device, ARM64 is simply an extension or evolution of the ARM architecture that supports 64-bit processing. Devices built on the ARM64 architecture include desktop PCs, mobile devices, and some IoT Core devices (Rasperry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3, and DragonBoard). For example the Microsoft HoloLens 2 uses an ARM64 processor.

About the architectures, you can refer to this document.
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17 people found this answer helpful.
Meghan 1 Reputation point

2021-04-05T18:00:31.817+00:00

Does your computer tell you if it it uses ARM or not?

Matt DeLong 21 Reputation points

2021-04-12T18:13:17.977+00:00

Yes. If you go to System Information, under "System Summary", the "System Type" will have ARM in it. For example, ARM64-based PC. If it is not ARM, it will say something like x64-based PC.

Gauri Shankar Badola 31 Reputation points

2021-04-13T22:02:15.43+00:00

Maybe a little bit of correction on x86 and x64.
Both x86 and x64 are same CPU architecture. HOW?

x86 is a "CPU" architecture which was initially used with 16bit "chip" and later on extended to be used on 32 bit chip. For most of the time, we used a 32bit chip(each number represented with 32 bits) that had x86 architecture. So basically, when we said this computer (CPU) is x86, it meant 32 bit or vice versa and same with OS, if an OS was 32bit, then it meant it was running x86 CPU architecture chip. (I'm not considering ARM here)

Now, due to the limitation of memory usage with 32bit chip that it can only support 4GB of RAM, x86 was then extended to be used on 64 bit chip, so basically now the same architecture (instructions set) was used to build a chip that used 64bit to represent a number, hence 64bit chip. Initially it was called x86-64 and later reduced to x64 which meant that x86 is the architecture on a 64bit chip.

Roniel Polanco 1 Reputation point

2021-07-26T13:39:02.197+00:00

Thanks! Very useful

Ramesh Pasham 1 Reputation point

2022-01-28T06:19:43.333+00:00

Good explanation...

kate ormesher 1 Reputation point

2022-03-01T17:23:32.487+00:00

x64 based computer does it actually have ARM software items installed? Could ARM items have been installed accidently. Hence going round in circles trying to find the correct security updates to install???

dolphin t 1 Reputation point

2022-07-29T08:22:37.373+00:00

*small correction
a raspberry pi is not an iot device, it is a small computer

HUGUES ADDIH 46 Reputation points

2023-02-27T11:58:16.52+00:00

Thank You. Great explanation.
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MBAVHALELO MULWELI MUOFHE 5 Reputation points

2023-12-08T18:54:27.9366667+00:00

I NEED TO DOWNLOAD ARM64 ARCHITECTURE
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