What’s on the Bits, Bytes & Sizes poster
A definition and 6 facts worth remembering.
A bit is one binary digit. Eight bits are a byte. Everything above that is a multiplier — and there are two competing sets of multipliers, which is the source of nearly every disagreement about size.
- Manufacturers use powers of 1000: 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.
- Operating systems often use powers of 1024 and still call it TB.
- 1024⁴ is about 1.0995 × 10¹², so 1 TB displays as ~931 GB.
- The unambiguous names are KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB — powers of 1024.
- Network speeds are in bits, storage in bytes: 100 Mbps ≈ 12.5 MB/s.
- One byte holds 256 values: 0–255 unsigned, or −128 to 127 signed.
- Bits in a byte — 8
- Values in a byte — 256
- 1 KiB — 1024 bytes
- A 2 TB drive advertised = 2,000,000,000,000 bytes = 1.82 TiB as the OS reports it.
Nothing is missing from the drive. The two numbers are counting in different bases.
Questions about the Bits, Bytes & Sizes poster
- What’s on the Bits, Bytes & Sizes poster?
- A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. A bit is one binary digit. Eight bits are a byte. Everything above that is a multiplier — and there are two competing sets of multipliers, which is the source of nearly every disagreement about size. Manufacturers use powers of 1000: 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.; Operating systems often use powers of 1024 and still call it TB.; 1024⁴ is about 1.0995 × 10¹², so 1 TB displays as ~931 GB.; The unambiguous names are KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB — powers of 1024.; Network speeds are in bits, storage in bytes: 100 Mbps ≈ 12.5 MB/s.; One byte holds 256 values: 0–255 unsigned, or −128 to 127 signed.; Bits in a byte — 8; Values in a byte — 256; 1 KiB — 1024 bytes; A 2 TB drive advertised = 2,000,000,000,000 bytes = 1.82 TiB as the OS reports it.. Nothing is missing from the drive. The two numbers are counting in different bases.
- Who is the Bits, Bytes & Sizes poster for?
- Bits, Bytes & Sizes belongs to the Computing section rather than to a school year, because computing is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning foundations can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Bits, Bytes & Sizes poster?
- When storage numbers do not match, this is almost always why. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Bits, Bytes & Sizes belongs on the wall where that computing work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Bits, Bytes & Sizes?
- Big-O Complexity, Binary, Hex & Decimal and Bitwise Operations sit alongside Bits, Bytes & Sizes in the Computing section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Big-O ComplexityBinary, Hex & DecimalBitwise Operations
- Is the Bits, Bytes & Sizes poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Bits, Bytes & Sizes downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Computing section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Bits, Bytes & Sizes poster print at?
- Bits, Bytes & Sizes is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Bits, Bytes & Sizes loses nothing.Printing guide
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