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I know that they are either 1 or 0

But what do they represent when people say that the PS2 is a 128 bit machine or a monitor can handle 32 bit colour?
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Posted: 2002-09-17 18:33:00
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Its the level of complexity that particular machine can handle. 32 bit colour will obviously give you smoother colour than say an 8 bit monitor. Simply because 8 bit monitor will mix colours in less number of ways than a 32 bit monitor.

When it comes to security, its harder to crack a 32bit encryption compared to 8bit encryption - again for the same reason as number of combinations.

The higher the bits, better the stuff - but also more costlier
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Posted: 2002-09-18 13:18:00
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say your monitor can display 32-bit color... that means your monitor can display 2^32 colors... that is 4 billion colors (4.295 E9).

when they say an encryption is 2-bit, so that's 2^2 combinations or 4, it means you only need 4 combinations to decrypt that code.

i hope you get the gist.
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Posted: 2002-09-18 13:35:00
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Thanx but what about stuff like the Xbox and the PS2 where does the 128 bit stuff come in?
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Posted: 2002-09-18 17:38:00
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From http://www.howstuffworks.com/microprocessor1.htm
"Data Width (bits) is the width of the ALU. An 8-bit ALU can add/subtract/multiply/etc. two 8-bit numbers, while a 32-bit ALU can manipulate 32-bit numbers. An 8-bit ALU would have to execute four instructions to add two 32-bit numbers, while a 32-bit ALU can do it in one instruction. In many cases, the external data bus is the same width as the ALU, but not always. The 8088 had a 16-bit ALU and an 8-bit bus, while the modern Pentiums fetch data 64 bits at a time for their 32-bit ALUs."


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Posted: 2002-09-18 17:59:00
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Bit as taken from XREFER
Quote:Binary DigitThe smallest item of information that can be stored in a digital computer. A single bit exists in one of two states, labelled 0 or 1, and is usually represented in the computer as an electrical signal that is either absent or present. Groups of bits form a binary code to represent numerical and other data.
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Posted: 2002-09-19 15:07:00
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ehehehe, this was what we were studying in our class just LAST TERM.
our subject called COCIRFU (computer circuits fundamentals) dealt with this.
.
.
feels like i'm in school or something when i read this thread.
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Posted: 2002-09-19 15:27:00
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@ferr
in that case, you should be the expert in this thread.

@*
well, the only reason i had to post the definition of what a bit is is because the discussion kinda jumped over it.

@Dessybaby
so don't get flustered when you hear about bits (or bytes or ALU or encryption or ... oh, i think you know what i mean ). At the most basic level, it's all about data (how much, how many, how they're represented, etc.)
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Posted: 2002-09-19 15:40:00
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