Gibibytes (GiB) | Megabytes (MB) |
---|---|
0 | 0 |
1 | 1073.741824 |
2 | 2147.483648 |
3 | 3221.225472 |
4 | 4294.967296 |
5 | 5368.70912 |
6 | 6442.450944 |
7 | 7516.192768 |
8 | 8589.934592 |
9 | 9663.676416 |
10 | 10737.41824 |
20 | 21474.83648 |
30 | 32212.25472 |
40 | 42949.67296 |
50 | 53687.0912 |
60 | 64424.50944 |
70 | 75161.92768 |
80 | 85899.34592 |
90 | 96636.76416 |
100 | 107374.1824 |
1000 | 1073741.824 |
Converting between Gibibytes (GiB) and Megabytes (MB) involves understanding the difference between base-2 (binary) and base-10 (decimal) interpretations of these units. GiB is a binary unit while MB is commonly used as a decimal unit.
A Gibibyte (GiB) is a unit of information storage defined as bytes. A Megabyte (MB) can be interpreted in two ways:
For clarity, we will assume MB refers to the decimal definition ( bytes) in most contexts, as this is how it is generally used in marketing materials and operating systems, while GiB is always in base 2.
To convert 1 GiB to MB (decimal), we use the following relationship:
Therefore,
So, 1 GiB is equal to approximately 1073.74 MB (decimal).
To convert 1 MB (decimal) to GiB, we simply invert the above calculation:
So, 1 MB (decimal) is approximately 0.00093132 GiB.
As indicated earlier, binary MB is generally referred to as Mibibyte (MiB) these days.
To convert 1 GiB to MiB, we use the following relationship:
Therefore,
So, 1 GiB is equal to 1024 MiB.
To convert 1 MiB to GiB, we simply invert the above calculation:
So, 1 MiB is equal to approximately 0.0009765625 GiB.
SSD/HDD Storage: When you buy a 1 TB hard drive, manufacturers often use the decimal definition (1 TB = bytes). Your operating system, however, often reports storage in GiB (base-2). This is why a "1 TB" drive might show up as roughly 931 GiB in your OS.
Downloading Files: When downloading a file, the size is usually displayed in MB (decimal). If you have limited storage in GiB, you can quickly estimate how many such files you can store. For example, if you have 10 GiB of free space, you can store approximately nine 1073 MB files.
Memory (RAM): RAM is typically sold and specified using GiB (binary). For example, 8 GiB of RAM is bytes.
See below section for step by step unit conversion with formulas and explanations. Please refer to the table below for a list of all the Megabytes to other unit conversions.
Gibibyte (GiB) is a unit of measure for digital information storage, closely related to Gigabytes (GB). Understanding Gibibytes requires recognizing the difference between base-2 (binary) and base-10 (decimal) systems, especially in the context of computer storage. Gibibytes are specifically used to represent storage sizes in base-2, which is the system that computers use.
Gibibyte is a unit based on powers of 2. It's defined as bytes.
This is important because computers operate using binary code (0s and 1s), making base-2 units more natural for specifying actual memory or storage allocations.
The term "Gigabyte" (GB) is often used in two different contexts:
The key difference: 1 GB (decimal) ≠ 1 GiB (binary).
1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes
The difference of ~7.4% can be significant when dealing with large storage capacities.
Using GiB helps avoid confusion and misrepresentation of storage capacity. Operating systems (like Linux and newer versions of macOS and Windows) increasingly report storage sizes in GiB to provide a more accurate representation of available space. This can lead to users observing a discrepancy between the advertised storage (in GB) and the actual usable space reported by their computer (in GiB).
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a standards organization that defines standards for electrical, electronic and related technologies. It defined "kibibyte", "mebibyte", "gibibyte" and others in IEC 60027-2. For more information please read their website IEC
Gibibytes are essential for accurately representing digital storage in computing due to the binary nature of computers. While Gigabytes are commonly used in marketing, understanding the difference between GB and GiB ensures clarity and avoids discrepancies in storage capacity calculations.
Megabytes (MB) are a unit of digital information storage, widely used to measure the size of files, storage capacity, and data transfer amounts. It's essential to understand that megabytes can be interpreted in two different ways depending on the context: base 10 (decimal) and base 2 (binary).
In the decimal system, which is commonly used for marketing storage devices, a megabyte is defined as:
This definition is simpler for consumers to understand and aligns with how manufacturers often advertise storage capacities. It's important to note, however, that operating systems typically use the binary definition.
In the binary system, which is used by computers to represent data, a megabyte is defined as:
This definition is more accurate for representing the actual physical storage allocation within computer systems. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) recommends using "mebibyte" (MiB) to avoid ambiguity when referring to binary megabytes, where 1 MiB = 1024 KiB.
The concept of bytes and their multiples evolved with the development of computer technology. While there isn't a specific "law" associated with megabytes, its definition is based on the fundamental principles of digital data representation.
The difference between decimal and binary megabytes often leads to confusion. A hard drive advertised as "1 TB" (terabyte, decimal) will appear smaller (approximately 931 GiB - gibibytes) when viewed by your operating system because the OS uses the binary definition.
This difference in representation is crucial to understand when evaluating storage capacities and data transfer rates. For more details, you can read the Binary prefix page on Wikipedia.
Convert 1 GiB to other units | Result |
---|---|
Gibibytes to Bits (GiB to b) | 8589934592 |
Gibibytes to Kilobits (GiB to Kb) | 8589934.592 |
Gibibytes to Kibibits (GiB to Kib) | 8388608 |
Gibibytes to Megabits (GiB to Mb) | 8589.934592 |
Gibibytes to Mebibits (GiB to Mib) | 8192 |
Gibibytes to Gigabits (GiB to Gb) | 8.589934592 |
Gibibytes to Gibibits (GiB to Gib) | 8 |
Gibibytes to Terabits (GiB to Tb) | 0.008589934592 |
Gibibytes to Tebibits (GiB to Tib) | 0.0078125 |
Gibibytes to Bytes (GiB to B) | 1073741824 |
Gibibytes to Kilobytes (GiB to KB) | 1073741.824 |
Gibibytes to Kibibytes (GiB to KiB) | 1048576 |
Gibibytes to Megabytes (GiB to MB) | 1073.741824 |
Gibibytes to Mebibytes (GiB to MiB) | 1024 |
Gibibytes to Gigabytes (GiB to GB) | 1.073741824 |
Gibibytes to Terabytes (GiB to TB) | 0.001073741824 |
Gibibytes to Tebibytes (GiB to TiB) | 0.0009765625 |