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1 - Computer Systems (2023) / Units of Memory
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Units of Memory
A computer's memory is measured by the number of bits that it is capable of storing. With a bit referring only to a single binary value, the term is not suitable for universal use when referring to a devices with very large amounts of available storage. To address this there are a number of units commonly used.
Below you will find a table referring to the commonly used units of memory along with detail of how much bigger they are than the previous unit. These units are universally used to describe both the storage capacity of devices and the size of digital files.
Below you will find a table referring to the commonly used units of memory along with detail of how much bigger they are than the previous unit. These units are universally used to describe both the storage capacity of devices and the size of digital files.
Unit Name |
Factor |
Value |
1 Bit |
NA |
A single 1 or 0 |
1 Nibble |
NA |
4 bits |
1 Byte |
NA |
8 bits |
1 kibibyte (KiB) |
2^10 |
1024 Bytes |
1 Mebibyte (MiB) |
2^20 |
1024 Kibibytes |
1 Gibibyte (GiB) |
2^30 |
1024 Mebibytes |
1 Tebibyte (TiB) |
2^40 |
1024 Gibibytes |
1 Pebibyte (PiB) |
2^40 |
1024 Tebibytes |
1 Exbibyte (EiB) |
2^50 |
1024 Pebibytes |
Factor
The factor column in the above table refers to the exact number of bytes contained within the unit.
For example
A Kibibyte contains 2^10 Bytes.
2^10 = 1024 bytes
A Mebibyte contains 2^20 Bytes
2^20 = 1048576 Bytes
A Gibibyte contains 2^30 Bytes
2^30 = 1073741824 Bytes
For example
A Kibibyte contains 2^10 Bytes.
2^10 = 1024 bytes
A Mebibyte contains 2^20 Bytes
2^20 = 1048576 Bytes
A Gibibyte contains 2^30 Bytes
2^30 = 1073741824 Bytes