{"id":641,"date":"2024-04-19T16:54:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vmlogger.com\/algorithms\/?p=641"},"modified":"2024-04-19T16:54:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:54:49","slug":"gigabytes-vs-gibibytes-decoding-the-storage-capacity-confusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vmlogger.com\/algorithms\/2024\/04\/19\/gigabytes-vs-gibibytes-decoding-the-storage-capacity-confusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Gigabytes vs. Gibibytes: Decoding the Storage Capacity Confusion"},"content":{"rendered":"
GB and GiB: Do you think that GB and GiB are used interchangeably and they mean the same thing? Are they equal? Well, they both look simple by definition however having a long and complicated history.<\/p>\n
In this article, we will explore, all those aspects, stories, and interesting facts behind these two.<\/p>\n
Let’s imagine, you buy a brand new\u00a01TB hard drive<\/strong>, happily boasting about all that extra space for your photos, videos, and games. But when you plug it in and check the capacity, it shows up as only about\u00a0931GB.<\/strong><\/p>\n Feel Scammed? \u2026. Nope, not really!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Welcome to the confusing yet interesting story of Gigabytes (GB) vs. Gibibytes (GiB).<\/p>\n The root of the confusion lies in how computers and humans think about numbers. As we all know computers use the binary system (base-2), where everything is based on powers of two. We, humans, however, generally use the decimal system (base-10) using powers of ten. That is where the whole thing gets confusing.<\/p>\n Before we dive into details, let\u2019s understand a few key units and their conversion:<\/p>\n We can understand that a metric\/decimal \u201ckilo\u201d equals 1,000, but a binary \u201ckilo\u201d equals 1,024.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This difference isn\u2019t huge at smaller scales, but it compounds when grows bigger such as TB (Terrabyte), PB (Petabyte), and so on…<\/p>\n To avoid this confusion, The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) came up with a new unit for binary systems. They created new units to definitively represent powers of two (binary)<\/p>\n The aim was to have a distinction between decimal metrics such as KB, MG, GB, etc., and binary metrics. Your 1TB hard drive should be labeled 1TB (decimal systems) or 931 GiB (binary system). Easy, right?<\/p>\n Chaos does not stop here\u2026<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Background information: Binary vs Decimal<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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The introduction of the letter \u201ci\u201d by IEC in these Units<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The class action lawsuit against major hard-disk and storage manufacturer<\/strong><\/h2>\n