In rare cases, “F1” appears in:

If you’re not on Google Cloud, check your BIOS or VM software logs. “F1 VM 64-bit” might simply mean:

Enable 64-bit virtualization (Intel VT-x / AMD-V) — press F1 to enter setup.

The f1-micro 64-bit VM is a capable, cost-effective choice for non-critical, low-resource workloads. It shines in the Always Free tier, making it ideal for learning, prototyping, or running tiny services 24/7 at no cost. However, for production or any real-time application, consider upgrading to an e2-micro or n2d-standard series.

| Machine type | vCPUs | RAM | Best for | |--------------|-------|-----|-----------------------------------| | e2-micro | 2 (burst) | 1 GB | Newer, better free tier option (recommended over f1-micro) | | g1-small | 1 | 1.7 GB | Slightly more memory | | n2d-standard-2 | 2 | 8 GB | Production, higher performance |

✅ Google now recommends e2-micro as the primary free tier VM, but f1-micro remains available and functional.

Almost all modern cloud VMs and AMIs are 64-bit. Running a 64-bit OS on an F1 instance is standard and recommended because:

Practically every official AWS FPGA development flow targets 64-bit Linux distributions (Amazon Linux 2, Ubuntu LTS, etc.). So if you’re launching an F1 instance, expect to use a 64-bit VM image.