This would be, in fact, recognized by the computer using the binary numbering system (so Windows, older versions of macOS) as 476,837.2 MB (~465.66 GB), and not 512,000 MB (~500 GB). We may get confused, for example, when buying a hard drive marked as 500 GB capacity. This way, 1,000 kB equals 1 MB, and 1,000 MB is 1 GB.Īlthough it may seem like a small difference, it does make a significant one when we operate with bigger numbers. In parallel to the binary system, there is also a definition adopted by the International System of Units (SI) in which:
By the same token, to know how many kB are in an MB, you need to multiply the MB value by 1024 kB. This sequence leads to 1 kilobyte standing for 1024 bytes in the binary system. This means using more significant numbers that were still powers of 2, as in the example below: That's why computers needed to operate on higher numbers to process more complex duties. However, throughout the evolution of information technology, bytes turned out to be too small to allow computers to handle all processes. Thus the system uses values from 0 to 255 (256 different values). 8 bits or 1 byte stands for at most for the value 1111 1111 = 255. A group of 8 bits is called a byte, the smallest addressable amount of memory in most computer architectures. You can easily check how the binary system works (and also how many kB are in GB) with this binary converter.Įach digit, such as basic digits (0 or 1), is called a "bit" (from binary digit). This way, any number has been described by using only those two digits, for example:Īnd so on, adding additional "0" and "1" (4 is then expressed as 100, 5 is 101.) Thus any signal is processed using "0" and "1". Machines either receive voltage (assigned value "1") or not (assigned value "0").
All computers work using the binary system, which means only two digits are used to transcribe every piece of information. To answer the question of is an MB is bigger than a kB, we need to understand what the "byte" stand for and what a binary system is.
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