Common Data Conversions
Data Storage Examples
CD-ROM
≈ 700 MB storage capacity
DVD
≈ 4.7 GB (single layer)
Blu-ray Disc
≈ 25 GB (single layer)
Modern SSD
≈ 1-8 TB capacity
Decimal vs Binary Units
Decimal (SI)
Used by hard drive manufacturers and operating systems display
- • 1 kB = 1,000 bytes
- • 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes
- • 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes
Binary (IEC)
Used in computer memory and some software
- • 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes
- • 1 MiB = 1,048,576 bytes
- • 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes
About Data Storage Measurement
Data storage capacity measures how much digital information can be stored in a device or medium. The fundamental unit is the bit (binary digit), with bytes (8 bits) being the most practical unit. Understanding the difference between decimal and binary prefixes is crucial for accurate calculations.
Common Applications
- • Computer memory (RAM, ROM)
- • Storage devices (HDD, SSD, USB)
- • Mobile device capacity
- • Internet data usage and bandwidth
- • File sizes and compression
- • Database storage planning
Storage Evolution
- • 1980s: Floppy disks (1.44 MB)
- • 1990s: CD-ROMs (650-700 MB)
- • 2000s: DVDs (4.7-8.5 GB)
- • 2000s: Blu-ray (25-128 GB)
- • 2010s+: SSDs (256 GB - 8 TB)
- • Cloud: Unlimited scaling
Marketing vs Reality
Hard drive manufacturers use decimal units (1 GB = 1 billion bytes) while operating systems often use binary units (1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes). This explains why a "500 GB" drive shows as only ~465 GB in your computer - it's actually about 465 GiB using binary calculation.