EM64T

Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel EM64T) enables 64-bit computing on the server/workstation and desktop platforms when combined with supporting software. Intel EM64T improves performance by allowing the system to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Technically speaking, EM64T offers to Intel processors what x86-64 offers to AMD processors. Ancient disagreements such as 3Dnow-vs-MMX still holds, but the rest should be exactly the same. It is supported by latest XEON processors.

Intel EM64T provides support for:

• 64-bit flat virtual address space
• 64-bit pointers
• 64-bit wide general purpose registers (16 - added R8-R15)
• 64-bit integer support
• Up to 1 tebibyte (TiB) of platform address space

Currently physical addresses are restricted to 40 bits, and linear addresses are restricted to 48 bits, sign-extended.

See Also

Articles

• X86-64
• Creating a 64-bit kernel
• Setting up long mode

External Links

• EM64T on Wikipedia.
• XEON manual