16-bit

Updated: 03/05/2023 by Computer Hope
16-bit color palette

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Today, 16-bit hardware and software has been replaced by 32-bit and 64-bit alternatives, which give the computer more memory to work with, increasing overall performance.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