Gigabyte: Difference between revisions
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* 1 GB = {{gaps|1|000|000|000}} bytes (= 1000<sup>3</sup> B = 10<sup>9</sup> B) is the definition recommended by the [[International System of Units]] (SI) and the [[International Electrotechnical Commission]] (IEC).<ref name="NIST">http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html Prefixes for binary multiples</ref> This definition is used in [[computer network|networking]] contexts and most [[storage media]], particularly [[hard drive]]s, [[Flash memory|Flash]]-based storage,<ref name="sandisk_gigabyte">[http://apac.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog(1349)-SanDisk_Extreme_Ducati_Edition_USB_Flash_Drive.aspx SanDisk USB Flash Drive] "Note: 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes."</ref><ref name="kingston_gigabyte">[http://www.kingston.com/us/usb/storage_chart Storage Chart] "Megabyte (MB) = 1,000,000 bytes; 1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,000,000,000 bytes; 1TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes"</ref> and [[DVD]]s, and is also consistent with the other uses of the [[SI prefix]] in computing, such as [[Megahertz#Megahertz in computing|CPU clock speeds]] or [[FLOPS|measures of performance]]. The [[Mac OS X]] file manager from version 10.6 and higher is a notable example of this usage in software. Since [[Mac OS X Snow Leopard|Snow Leopard]], file sizes are reported in decimal units.<ref name="Apple Inc">{{cite web|url=http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2419 |title=How Mac OS X reports drive capacity |publisher=Apple Inc |date=2009-08-27 |accessdate=2009-10-16}}</ref> |
* 1 GB = {{gaps|1|000|000|000}} bytes (= 1000<sup>3</sup> B = 10<sup>9</sup> B) is the definition recommended by the [[International System of Units]] (SI) and the [[International Electrotechnical Commission]] (IEC).<ref name="NIST">http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html Prefixes for binary multiples</ref> This definition is used in [[computer network|networking]] contexts and most [[storage media]], particularly [[hard drive]]s, [[Flash memory|Flash]]-based storage,<ref name="sandisk_gigabyte">[http://apac.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog(1349)-SanDisk_Extreme_Ducati_Edition_USB_Flash_Drive.aspx SanDisk USB Flash Drive] "Note: 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes."</ref><ref name="kingston_gigabyte">[http://www.kingston.com/us/usb/storage_chart Storage Chart] "Megabyte (MB) = 1,000,000 bytes; 1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,000,000,000 bytes; 1TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes"</ref> and [[DVD]]s, and is also consistent with the other uses of the [[SI prefix]] in computing, such as [[Megahertz#Megahertz in computing|CPU clock speeds]] or [[FLOPS|measures of performance]]. The [[Mac OS X]] file manager from version 10.6 and higher is a notable example of this usage in software. Since [[Mac OS X Snow Leopard|Snow Leopard]], file sizes are reported in decimal units.<ref name="Apple Inc">{{cite web|url=http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2419 |title=How Mac OS X reports drive capacity |publisher=Apple Inc |date=2009-08-27 |accessdate=2009-10-16}}</ref> |
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===Binary (incompatible with the International System of Units)=== |
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===Base 2 definition=== |
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* 1 GiB = {{gaps|1|073|741|824}} bytes (= 1024<sup>3</sup> B = 2<sup>30</sup> B) is the definition used by [[Microsoft Windows]] in reference to [[computer memory]] (e.g., [[RAM]]). This definition is synonymous with the unambiguous IEC standard name [[gibibyte]]. |
* 1 GiB = {{gaps|1|073|741|824}} bytes (= 1024<sup>3</sup> B = 2<sup>30</sup> B) is the definition used by [[Microsoft Windows]] in reference to [[computer memory]] (e.g., [[RAM]]). This definition is synonymous with the unambiguous IEC standard name [[gibibyte]]. |
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Orders of magnitude of data |
The gigabyte (/ˈɡɪɡəbaɪt/ GIG-ə-byt or /ˈdʒɪɡəbaɪt/[1]) is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage.
The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units (SI), therefore in this context 1 gigabyte is 1000000000bytes. The unit symbol for the gigabyte is GB.
Historically, the term has also been used in some fields of computer science and information technology to denote the gibibyte, or 1073741824 (10243 or 230) bytes. For instance, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defined the unit accordingly for the use in power switchgear.[2] In 2000, however, IEEE adopted the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) recommendation, which uses the metric prefix interpretation.
Today, the usage of the unit gigabyte continues to depend on the context. When referring to disk capacities, it usually means 109 bytes, often stated explicitly on the manufacturer's permanent sticker. This also applies to data transmission quantities over telecommunication circuits, as the telecommunications and computer networking industries have always used the SI prefixes with their standards-based meaning. When referring to RAM sizes it most often (see binary prefix adoption) has a binary interpretation of 10243 bytes, i.e. as an alias for gibibyte. File systems and software often list file sizes or free space in some mixture of SI units and binary units; they sometimes use SI prefixes to refer to binary interpretation – that is using a label of gigabyte or GB for a number computed in terms of gibibytes (GiB), continuing the confusion.
In order to address this, the International Electrotechnical Commission has been promoting the use of the term gibibyte for the binary definition. This position is endorsed by other standards organizations including the IEEE, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), but the binary prefixes have seen limited acceptance. The JEDEC industry consortium continues to recommend the IEEE 100 nomenclature of using the metric prefixes kilo, mega and giga in their binary interpretation for memory manufacturing designations.
Definition
The term "gigabyte" is commonly used to mean either 10003 bytes or 10243 bytes. This originated as compromise technical jargon for the byte multiples that needed to be expressed by the powers of 2 but lacked a convenient name. As 1024 (210) approximates 1000 (103), roughly corresponding SI multiples, it was used for binary multiples as well. In 1998 the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) proposed standards for binary prefixes and requiring the use of gigabyte to strictly denote 10003 bytes and gibibyte to denote 10243 bytes. By the end of 2007, the IEC Standard had been adopted by the IEEE, EU, and NIST. Nevertheless, the term gigabyte continues to be widely used with the following two different meanings:
Decimal (follows the International System of Units)
- 1 GB = 1000000000 bytes (= 10003 B = 109 B) is the definition recommended by the International System of Units (SI) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).[3] This definition is used in networking contexts and most storage media, particularly hard drives, Flash-based storage,[4][5] and DVDs, and is also consistent with the other uses of the SI prefix in computing, such as CPU clock speeds or measures of performance. The Mac OS X file manager from version 10.6 and higher is a notable example of this usage in software. Since Snow Leopard, file sizes are reported in decimal units.[6]
Binary (incompatible with the International System of Units)
- 1 GiB = 1073741824 bytes (= 10243 B = 230 B) is the definition used by Microsoft Windows in reference to computer memory (e.g., RAM). This definition is synonymous with the unambiguous IEC standard name gibibyte.
Consumer confusion
Since the early 2000s most consumer hard drive capacities are grouped in certain size classes measured in gigabytes. The exact capacity of a given drive is usually some number above or below the class designation. Although most manufacturers of hard disk drives and flash-memory disk devices[4][5] define 1 gigabyte as 1000000000bytes, software like Microsoft Windows reports size in gigabytes by dividing the total capacity in bytes by 1073741824 (230 = 1 gibibyte), while still reporting the result with the symbol "GB". This practice causes confusion, as a hard disk with an advertised capacity of, for example, "400 GB" (meaning 400000000000bytes) might be reported by the operating system as only "372 GB" (meaning 372 GiB). Other software, like Mac OS X 10.6[6] and some components of the Linux kernel[7] measure using the decimal units. The JEDEC memory standards uses the IEEE 100 nomenclatures which defines a gigabyte as 1073741824bytes (or 230 bytes).[8]
The difference between units based on decimal and binary prefixes increases as a semi-logarithmic (linear-log) function—for example, the decimal kilobyte value is nearly 98% of the kibibyte, a megabyte is under 96% of a mebibyte, and a gigabyte is just over 93% of a gibibyte value. This means that a 300 GB (279 GiB) hard disk might be indicated variously as 300 GB, 279 GB or 279 GiB, depending on the operating system. As storage sizes increase and larger units are used, these difference become even more pronounced. Some legal challenges have been waged over this confusion such as a suit against Western Digital.[9][10] Western Digital settled the challenge and added explicit disclaimers to products that the usable capacity may differ from the advertised capacity.[10]
Because of its physical design, computer memory capacity is a multiple of base 2, thus, memory size at the hardware level can always be factored by a power of two. It is thus convenient to use binary units for non-disk memory devices at the hardware level, for example, in boards using DIMM memory. That is, a memory capacity of 1073741824bytes, for example, is conveniently expressed as 1 GiB as opposed to 1.074 GB. Software applications, however, allocate memory in varying degrees of granularity as needed to fulfill data structure requirements and binary multiples are usually not required. Other computer measurements, like storage hardware size, data transfer rates, clock speeds, operations per second, etc., do not depend on an inherent base, and are usually presented in decimal units.
Examples of gigabyte-sized storage
- One hour of SDTV video at 2.2 Mbit/s is approximately 1 GB.
- Seven minutes of HDTV video at 19.39 Mbit/s is approximately 1 GB.
- 114 minutes of uncompressed CD-quality audio at 1.4 Mbit/s is approximately 1 GB.
- A DVD-R can hold about 4.7 GB.
- A dual-layered Blu-ray disc can hold about 50 GB.
See also
References
- ^ The word 'gigabyte' can be pronounced two ways as well as its prefix. Gigabyte - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- ^ IEEE Standard Definitions for Power Switchgear, IEEE Std C37.100-1992, E-ISBN 0-7381-1047-7, 1992
- ^ http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html Prefixes for binary multiples
- ^ a b SanDisk USB Flash Drive "Note: 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes."
- ^ a b Storage Chart "Megabyte (MB) = 1,000,000 bytes; 1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,000,000,000 bytes; 1TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes"
- ^ a b "How Mac OS X reports drive capacity". Apple Inc. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
- ^ units(7) - Linux manual page
- ^ JEDEC Solid State Technology Association (December 2002). "Terms, Definitions, and Letter Symbols for Microcomputers, Microprocessors, and Memory Integrated Circuits" (PDF). Jesd 100B.01.
- ^ Baskin, Scott D. (2006-02-01). "Defendant Western Digital Corporation's Brief in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Approval". Orin Safier v. Western Digital Corporation. Western Digital Corporation. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
- ^ a b Mook, Nate (2006-06-28). "Western Digital Settles Capacity Suit". betanews. Retrieved 2009-03-30.