Megabit

Last updated
Decimal
Value  Metric 
1000kbit kilobit
10002Mbit megabit
10003Gbit gigabit
10004Tbit terabit
10005Pbit petabit
10006Ebit exabit
10007Zbit zettabit
10008Ybit yottabit
Binary
Value  IEC   JEDEC  
1024Kibit kibibit KbitKbkilobit
10242Mibit mebibit MbitMbmegabit
10243Gibit gibibit GbitGbgigabit
10244Tibit tebibit
10245Pibit pebibit
10246Eibit exbibit
10247Zibit zebibit
10248Yibit yobibit
Orders of magnitude of data

The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information. The prefix mega (symbol M) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 106 (1 million), [1] and therefore

1 megabit = 106bits = 1000000bits = 1000 kilobits.

The megabit has the unit symbol Mbit or Mb. The lowercase 'b' in Mb distinguishes it from MB (for megabyte).

The megabit is closely related to the mebibit, a unit multiple derived from the binary prefix mebi (symbol Mi) of the same order of magnitude, [2] which is equal to 220bits = 1048576bits, or approximately 5% larger than the megabit. Despite the definitions of these new prefixes for binary-based quantities of storage by international standards organizations, memory semiconductor chips are still marketed using the metric prefix names to designate binary multiples.

Using the common byte size of eight bits and the standard decimal definition of megabit and kilobyte, 1 megabit is equal to 125  kilobytes (kB) or approximately 122  kibibytes (KiB).

The megabit is widely used when referring to data transfer rates of computer networks or telecommunications systems. Network transfer rates and download speeds often use the megabit as the amount transferred per time unit, e.g., a 100  Mbit/s (megabit per second) Fast-Ethernet connection, or a 10 Mbit/s Internet access service, whereas the sizes of data units (files) transferred over these networks are often measured in megabytes. To achieve a transfer rate of one megabyte per second one needs a network connection with a transfer rate of eight megabits per second.

Usage

Related Research Articles

The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit of memory in many computer architectures. To disambiguate arbitrarily sized bytes from the common 8-bit definition, network protocol documents such as The Internet Protocol refer to an 8-bit byte as an octet. Those bits in an octet are usually counted with numbering from 0 to 7 or 7 to 0 depending on the bit endianness. The first bit is number 0, making the eighth bit number 7.

A binary prefix is a unit prefix for multiples of units in data processing, data transmission, and digital information, principally in association with the bit and the byte, to indicate multiplication by a power of 2. As shown in the table to the right there are two sets of symbols for binary prefixes, one set established by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and several other standards and trade organizations using two letter symbols, e.g. Mi indicating 1,048,576 with a second set established by semiconductor industry convention using one letter symbols, e.g., M also indicating 1,048,576.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DDR SDRAM</span> Type of computer memory

Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) class of memory integrated circuits used in computers. DDR SDRAM, also retroactively called DDR1 SDRAM, has been superseded by DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, DDR4 SDRAM and DDR5 SDRAM. None of its successors are forward or backward compatible with DDR1 SDRAM, meaning DDR2, DDR3, DDR4 and DDR5 memory modules will not work in DDR1-equipped motherboards, and vice versa.

The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one gigabyte is one billion bytes. The unit symbol for the gigabyte is GB.

The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information.

The kilobit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix kilo- (symbol k) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 103 (1 thousand), and therefore,

The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Its recommended unit symbol is MB. The unit prefix mega is a multiplier of 1000000 (106) in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one megabyte is one million bytes of information. This definition has been incorporated into the International System of Quantities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synchronous dynamic random-access memory</span> Type of computer memory

Synchronous dynamic random-access memory is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal.

The gigabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix giga (symbol G) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 109 (1 billion, short scale), and therefore.

The mebibit is a multiple of the bit, a unit of information, prefixed by the standards-based multiplier "mebi" (symbol Mi), a binary prefix meaning 220. The unit symbol of the mebibit is Mibit.

A unit prefix is a specifier or mnemonic that is prepended to units of measurement to indicate multiples or fractions of the units. Units of various sizes are commonly formed by the use of such prefixes. The prefixes of the metric system, such as kilo and milli, represent multiplication by powers of ten. In information technology it is common to use binary prefixes, which are based on powers of two. Historically, many prefixes have been used or proposed by various sources, but only a narrow set has been recognised by standards organisations.

File size is a measure of how much data a computer file contains or, alternately, how much storage it consumes. Typically, file size is expressed in units of measurement based on the byte. By convention, file size units use either a metric prefix or a binary prefix.

IEEE 1541-2002 is a standard issued in 2002 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) concerning the use of prefixes for binary multiples of units of measurement related to digital electronics and computing.

ISO 80000 or IEC 80000 is an international standard introducing the International System of Quantities (ISQ). It was developed and promulgated jointly by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The JEDEC memory standards are the specifications for semiconductor memory circuits and similar storage devices promulgated by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) Solid State Technology Association, a semiconductor trade and engineering standardization organization.

In telecommunications, data-transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols (baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are multiples of bits per second (bit/s) and bytes per second (B/s). For example, the data rates of modern residential high-speed Internet connections are commonly expressed in megabits per second (Mbit/s).

This timeline of binary prefixes lists events in the history of the evolution, development, and use of units of measure for information, the bit and the byte, which are germane to the definition of the binary prefixes by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1998.

In computing and telecommunications, a unit of information is the capacity of some standard data storage system or communication channel, used to measure the capacities of other systems and channels. In information theory, units of information are also used to measure information contained in messages and the entropy of random variables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LPDDR</span> Computer hardware

Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR), also known as LPDDR SDRAM, is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory that consumes less power and is targeted for mobile computers and devices such as mobile phones. Older variants are also known as Mobile DDR, and abbreviated as mDDR.

References

  1. The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty: SI prefixes
  2. The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty: Prefixes for binary multiples
  3. "DDR3 SDRAM Memory Product Guide" (PDF). Samsung Global. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  4. "S25FL128P Data Sheet" (PDF). Spansion Support. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  5. "1-Megabit (128K x 8) Paged Parallel EEPROMs" (PDF). Atmel Corporation. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. "JEDEC Standard DDR3 SDRAM Specification" (PDF, 8.8 MB). Retrieved 2008-07-10.