16-bit
16-bit is a computer device or program capable of transferring 16 bits of data at a time. For example, early computer processors (e.g., 8088 and 80286) were 16-bit processors, meaning they could work with 16-bit binary numbers (decimal numbers up to 65,535). Anything larger and the computer would need to break the number into smaller pieces.
Today, 16-bit hardware and software has been replaced by 32-bit and 64-bit alternatives, which give the computer more memory to work with, increasing overall performance.
16-bit binary values
Below are the decimal values of each bit in a 16-bit binary number that can store a maximum of 65,535 numbers. See our binary page for further information and help with binary.
| Bit #: | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Power: | 215 | 214 | 213 | 212 | 211 | 210 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 |
| Value: | 32678 | 16284 | 8192 | 4096 | 2048 | 1024 | 512 | 256 | 128 | 64 | 32 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
16-bit with video
With a computer video card or graphics card, 16-bit color or high color refers to the number of colors capable that can be displayed. For example, 16-bit is the same as 65,536 colors.
Examples of 16-bit programs
Below is a listing of different applications shipped with Windows 95 that are 16-bit applications.
- FreeCell (FREECELL.EXE)
- Microsoft Hearts Network (MSHEARTS.EXE)
- Solitaire (SOL.EXE)
- Character Map (CHARMAP.EXE)
- Chat (WINCHAT.EXE)
- Clipboard Viewer (CLIPBRD.EXE)
- Dialer (DIALER.EXE)
- Disk Defragmenter (DEFRAG.EXE)
- DriveSpace (DRVSPACE.EXE)
- ScanDisk for Windows (SCANDSKW.EXE)
- System Configuration Editor (SYSEDIT.EXE)
- Program Manager (PROGMAN.EXE)
- Windows 95 Tour (TOUR.EXE)
- Windows Version (WINVER.EXE)
- Windows Popup (WINPOPUP.EXE)
8-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit, Bit, Hardware terms, Software terms, UInt16, Video terms