Gigabyte

:This article is about the unit of measurement, for the computer hardware manufacturer see Gigabyte Technology.

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A gigabyte (derived from the SI prefix giga-) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to one billion bytes. It is commonly abbreviated GB in writing (not to be confused with Gb, which is used for gigabit) and gig in writing or speech.

Related Topics:
SI prefix - Giga - Information - Computer storage - Billion - Byte - Gigabit

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

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• 1,000,000,000 bytes or 10⁹ bytes is the decimal definition used in telecommunications (such as network speeds) and some computer storage manufacturers (such as hard disks 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 systems. 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.
 
Gigabyte: Distinction between 1000 and 1024 megabytes ►