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    Powers of 2 Reference

    Essential powers of 2 for system design, from kilobytes to petabytes

    Powers of 2 Reference

    Common powers of 2 used in system design and programming

    210
    1 KB
    = 1,024 bytes
    Decimal: 1.024 KB
    Small text file
    Icon image
    216
    64 KB
    = 65,536 bytes
    Decimal: 65.536 KB
    TCP window size
    L1 cache size
    220
    1 MB
    = 1,048,576 bytes
    Decimal: 1.049 MB
    High-res photo
    MP3 song
    224
    16 MB
    = 16,777,216 bytes
    Decimal: 16.777 MB
    Mobile app size
    L3 cache
    230
    1 GB
    = 1,073,741,824 bytes
    Decimal: 1.074 GB
    Movie file
    RAM in phone
    232
    4 GB
    = 4,294,967,296 bytes
    Decimal: 4.295 GB
    32-bit address space
    DVD capacity
    240
    1 TB
    = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes
    Decimal: 1.100 TB
    Modern SSD
    Large database
    250
    1 PB
    = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes
    Decimal: 1.126 PB
    Large data center
    Google Photos storage

    Size Categories

    Small (bytes - KB)
    Medium (MB)
    Large (GB - TB)
    Massive (PB+)