How do I know my laptop is 64-bit compatible?

I recently plan to buy a new laptop to run a 64-bit OS, but a friend told me that my current laptop is already 64-bit.

How can I verify if my laptop is ready to load a 64-bit OS or not?

Here is the result from CPU-Z:

4 Answers

Find out what kind of processor it uses. If it's a 64-bit processor you should be all set. I think anything more recent than a Core 2 on the Intel side is 64-bit and AMD's 64-bit processors usually have a "64" in their name. These are not guaranteed rules, however, so you should always do your homework to be safe.

edit: Yes, the T5600 is 64-bit. You see under "Instructions" where it says "EM64T"? That indicates its a 64-bit chip.

You could look at the registry:

1. open regedit.exe
2. navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\CentralProcessor\0
3. Look at the value called Identifier to find the processor type

Ok, from the intel site:

Intel® EM64T requires a computer system with a processor, chipset, BIOS, operating system, device drivers and applications enabled for Intel EM64T. Processor will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an Intel EM64T-enabled BIOS. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software configurations. See for more information including details on which processors support Intel® EM64T or consult with your system vendor for more information.

So yes it is 64 bit.

I currently have a little app (tied to our own little 64bit os) that tells you the processor name and the type x86(32bit) or x64(64bit) here (6Kb download)

It just calls CPUID and checks if long mode is available. (CPUID.80000001H:EDX[Bit 29])

Some C++ code:

//Detect if long mode is available by checking bit 29 in EDX when calling
//CPUID Extended Processor Info and Feature Bits.
int results[4];//eax, ebx, ecx & edx
BOOL 64bit;
__cpuid(results,0x80000001);
if(results[3]&29) 64bit=TRUE; else 64bit=FALSE;