32-Bit Machine Computer

32-Bit Machine Computer, in computer science, a computer that works with information in groups of 32 bits (binary digits) at a time. A description of a computer as a 32-bit machine can either refer to the word size (basic working unit) of its microprocessor or, more commonly, refer to the number of bits transferred along the computer's data bus (data path along which information travels to and from the microprocessor) at a single time. A 32-bit microprocessor thus has a word size of 32 bits, or 4 bytes; a 32-bit data bus has 32 data lines, so it ferries information through the system in sets of 32 bits at a time. The Apple Macintosh II is a 32-bit machine, in terms of both the word size of its microprocessor and the size of the data bus, as are the IBM PS/2 Model 80 and similar models based on the Intel 80386 microprocessor. See also 8-Bit Machine; 16-Bit Machine; Bit; Microcomputer.