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Most computer operating systems use the concept of virtual memory, allowing the utilization of more primary storage capacity than is physically available in the system. As the primary memory fills up, the system moves the least-used chunks ( pages ) to a swap file or page file on secondary storage, retrieving them later when needed.
Historical lowest retail price of computer memory and storage Electromechanical memory used in the IBM 602, an early punch multiplying calculator Detail of the back of a section of ENIAC, showing vacuum tubes Williams tube used as memory in the IAS computer c. 1951 8 GB microSDHC card on top of 8 bytes of magnetic-core memory (1 core is 1 bit.)
This list of computer size categories attempts to list commonly used categories of computer by the physical size of the device and its chassis or case, in descending order of size. One generation's "supercomputer" is the next generation's "mainframe", and a "PDA" does not have the same set of functions as a "laptop", but the list still has ...
Since response time, complexity, and capacity are related, the levels may also be distinguished by their performance and controlling technologies. [1] Memory hierarchy affects performance in computer architectural design, algorithm predictions, and lower level programming constructs involving locality of reference.
In particular, if b is a positive integer, then the unit is the amount of information that can be stored in a system with b possible states. When b is 2, the unit is the shannon, equal to the information content of one "bit". A system with 8 possible states, for example, can store up to log 2 8 = 3 bits of information. Other units that have ...
11,520,000 bits – capacity of a lower-resolution computer monitor (as of 2006), 800 × 600 pixels, 24 bpp: 11,796,480 bits – capacity of a 3.5 in floppy disk, colloquially known as 1.44 megabyte but actually 1.44 × 1000 × 1024 bytes 2 24: 16,777,216 bits (2 mebibytes) 25,000,000 bits – amount of data in a typical color slide
The capacity of a hard disk drive, as reported by an operating system to the end user, is smaller than the amount stated by the manufacturer for several reasons, e.g. the operating system using some space, use of some space for data redundancy, space use for file system structures.
A portion of the computer's hard drive is set aside for a paging file or a scratch partition, and the combination of physical RAM and the paging file form the system's total memory. (For example, if a computer has 2 GB (1024 3 B) of RAM and a 1 GB page file, the operating system has 3 GB total memory available to it.)