Byte addressable memory refers to architectures where data can be accessed and addressed in units that are narrower than the bus. ... The 386SX, which addresses memory in 8-bit units but can fetch and store it 16 bits at a time, is termed byte-addressable.

Is memory byte or word addressable?

In reality, memory is only byte addressable. It means: A binary address always points to a single byte only. A word is just a group of bytes – 2 , 4 , 8 depending upon the data bus size of the CPU.

What is word addressable memory?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In computer architecture, word addressing means that addresses of memory on a computer uniquely identify words of memory. It is usually used in contrast with byte addressing, where addresses uniquely identify bytes.