Gigabyte

A gigabyte (derived from the SI Prefix '' Giga -'') is a unit of Information or Computer Storage equal to one Billion Byte s. It is commonly abbreviated '''GB''' in writing (not to be confused with '''Gb''', which is used for Gigabit ) and '''gig''' in writing or speech.

There are two slightly different definitions of the size of a gigabyte in use:

1,000,000,000 bytes or 10⁹ bytes is the decimal definition used in Telecommunication s (such as network speeds) and most Computer Storage manufacturers (such as Hard Disk s and Flash Drives ). This usage is compatible with SI .

1,073,741,824 bytes, equal to 1024³, or 2³⁰ bytes. This is the definition used for Computer Memory sizes, and most often used in Computer Engineering , Computer Science , and most aspects of computer Operating System s. The IEC recommends that this unit should instead be called a Gibibyte (abbreviated GiB), as it conflicts with SI units used for bus speeds and the like.

GIGABYTES IN USE

As of 2005 , most consumer Hard Drive s are defined by their gigabyte-range capacities. The true capacity is usually some number above or below the class designation. Although most hard disk manufacturers' definition of GB is 1,000,000,000 bytes (only Computer Memory has a natural inclination towards units that are powers of 2), most computer operating systems use the 1,073,741,824 byte definition. This distinction can cause confusion.

As Of 2005 , consumer hard drive per-gigabyte costs are 0.50-0.80 USD .

In speech, ''gigabyte'' is often informally abbreviated to ''gig'', as in "This is a ten-gig Hard Drive ".

A DVD-5 format disc is capable of storing 4.7 GB. One gigabyte is roughly equal to 18 hours of MP3 music (at 128 kbit/s).

Most USB Flash Drive s have a capacity measured in MB but flash drives with capacities greater than 1 GB have been released recently.

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