Why does computer solid state storage size go up by double each time?
i.e. why do you get 8Gb, 16Gb and 32Gb but nothing in between, but with hard discs you get 250Gb or 350Gb or 500Gb or 1 Tb etc.?

Or, I dunno, talk about lunch.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:00, 97 replies, latest was 12 years ago)

Same tech as pen drives
More like RAM than a HDD?

I am fucking starving but I don't know what to have
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:02, Reply)

Also, what's the deal with airline food?

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:04, Reply)

Because what they're got inside is a number of chips in series.
So in the 8gb one they're probably got 4x2gb chips, in the 16gb they've got 4x4gb chips etc. They keep the same number of chips and controllers cooling etc because it makes designing them easier.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:04, Reply)

YOU'RE WELCOME!

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:07, Reply)

You're not paying attention to this answer are you.
Why normal HDD's don't necessarily go up in the same way is because they're based on spinning disks. You can either have more disks or "plates" in higher capacity drives or most likely a better head for reading/writing and each disk can write a byte of data in a smaller area. As this has more variables they tend to just do them in 50gb lots.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:13, Reply)

Okay, I get the whole hard disk is different thing
but I'm confused about the doubling up thing if you take it back to the very begining. Can I assume that they don't work from Bytes and go up, they just invented 1 Gb chips?
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:15, Reply)

Pretty much.
The SSD is a bastardisation of USB key tech, so imagine a bunch of USB keys all wired up with complicated mathmatics to make them work as a single drive.
It doubles because that structure is based on a bunch of seperate memory chips working together. It doesn't necessarily have to double, but in practice it does because it's the best way to get a range out quickly.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:19, Reply)

And this is what gets strippers to hang up their sparkly boob tubes and move to Milton Keynes?
I'll never understand women.
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:25, Reply)

That's my charm and wit.
And the fact Milton Keynes is the city of dreams.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:26, Reply)

hahaha

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:26, Reply)

It's mostly irrelevant.

( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:17, Reply)

Because it's easier to understand larger numbers when they're round, I guess.
1TB is still 1024GB
( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:05, Reply)

PISS.

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:05, Reply)

But, but, but ...
It was the same with Megabytes, so you have 1Mg, then 2Mb then 4 then 8 then 16 then 32 the 64 so how did they get from that to Gigabytes but still using the same nice round numbers?

Oh wait, I get it "1Gb" is actually "1024Mb"? right? But no, that doesn't work Because once you're past 64Gb teh extra bit rounds it up, and that's not what happens.

And that's assuming you start from Mb, not just bytes.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:10, Reply)

these trousers are damp

( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:15, Reply)

Nah, that's just your fanny leaking because you thought about me again.
Question swipe, do you wax or shave?
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:15, Reply)

who the fuck would shave it?
an itchy george michael is not a good look
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:26, Reply)

So, there is a person whose job it is to pour wax on strangers vaginal areas
before ripping the hair off. And you're happy with showing your mimsy to a stranger?
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:28, Reply)

your mum isn't a stranger

( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:31, Reply)

You need waterproof trousers

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:23, Reply)

Would you recommend the Peter Storm brand?
Or is there another brand you advocate?
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:24, Reply)

ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTE

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:24, Reply)

Right. Memory is based on bits. There are eight of them in a byte.
there are 1024 bytes in a kilobyte, 1024 kb in 1mb and 1024 mb in a gb.

When you think 1TB, you're thinking in base ten, which is why it doesn't seem to make sense that it's not 1000kb. Because they use 1GB, they've taken to using 500mb (rather than the more accurate 512) etc as well.

It's just ease of labelling, really.
( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:16, Reply)

Oh I see. So the fact that 1024kb actually equals
1048576 bytes dosent matter, because you're defining a Mb as 1024Kb, not the number of bytes is containins.

So each layer has a kind of reset factor compared with the actual number of bits involved.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:19, Reply)

Aaaah, which explains why when you buy a 32Gb SD card
you actually only get about 29Gb of storage because the 29Gb is the actual number of bits available, not the number of "bytes"
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:20, Reply)

There you go.

( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:22, Reply)

No.
That's because the quoted size is the raw amount of user data in the flash chips which is less than the actual amount of data since flash chips contain additional non-user data to protect blocks and store status information but less than the amount that the user will see since the file system and operating system will add an overhead and oh god this is tedious but everbody else is talking semi-informed shite and the nerd in me couldn't quite resist I'll shut up now kthx.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:28, Reply)

you
all the careful trolling you carry out, and this you take seriously?

THIS?
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:30, Reply)

I had to write a driver for an [vendor erased] flash part at work last week because [manufacturer erased] are incompetent nobweeds.
It's a sore point. Like my penis.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:32, Reply)

it's all over for you
the only solution is DYAAKY
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:34, Reply)

Okay clever clogs
but the amount you "lose" between the volume you see on the packet and what you get appears to be a bit proportional, so if it was just system storage surely that would be far less with a large chip rather than a small chip?

I'm genuinely curious, are you saying that the difference in bits between what we define as 1Gb and how many bits that would be if you started from 8 bits in 1 byte and had 1024Mb or whatever has nothing to do with the difference in perceived size?
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:31, Reply)

Yeah, you've got it!

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:32, Reply)

See the other answer.
Hard disk platters were always quoted in decimal (i.e. 1000 bytes to a kB etc) to make them seem slightly bigger until consumers got a trifle miffed. Flash memory wasn't really a consumer product until fairly recently so the numbers quoted were more "honest".
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:35, Reply)

Nah, you've lost me know and I've stopped being curious.
I'm going to look at some tits instead.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:38, Reply)

looking down?

( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 13:08, Reply)

And then you get into the whole difference between an
actual, physical measurement and the logical aproximation it actually is. It's all very complicated.
( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:22, Reply)

no no no no no no
you never get into that.

EVER.

fucking hell man, there are people here.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:30, Reply)

Most flash chips use 16 bit words rather than octets
and the main difference between platters and flash chips is that the former were conventionally quoted in decimal and the latter have always been quoted in base 2.

But apart from that you're ... well ... largely wrong but I doubt anybody really cares.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:31, Reply)

You probably didn't see this the other day...
b3ta.com/questions/offtopic/post1888552
( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:32, Reply)

Oh man.
Some people actually have negative dignity.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:33, Reply)

Someone doing a study of the linguistics of Klingon is quite interesting and important.
Not because "ooh startrek" but in a how people make up a language sort of way.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:36, Reply)

Bok Choi Hun Twat x'ch'k!

( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:40, Reply)

I'd care.
I was aware of base 2, but I went with using 8 as an example because that's what you'll actually see quoted, 8, 16, 32 etc. I'm always willing to be educated.
( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:34, Reply)

I tell you what
I've got some massively tedious datasheets you can read while you're pretending to watch Oliver! or whatever it is that your missus is imposing on you.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:36, Reply)

Raw maths has never been my strong point,
but I'll have a bloody good go.
( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:42, Reply)

Pure maths*

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:49, Reply)

They are can all be divided by 4, it's just the way they are referred to
For example One terrabyte is acutally 1024 gigabytes, not 1000.
( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:05, Reply)

fucking hell al, we all know the answer is WHO CARES
i want to go to vital ingredient and get a hand-tossed salad but it's snowing so i might just have to hit up the staff canteen for an egg mayo and cheese bagel or something.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:07, Reply)

How much snow is there in London? Is it settling?

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:08, Reply)

as always in the city it's swirling around like a mo'fo
but not sticking on the pavements.

no idea about the northern provinces though.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:13, Reply)

No snow up here.

(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:13, Reply)

There is snow in Poland. Unsurprisingly.

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:14, Reply)

Hand-tossed salad?
Is there any other way of tossing a fucking salad? Have you southern woofters invented some kind of salad-tossing robot?

For fuck's sake.
(Reverend Fister "a disciplined fuckwit", Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:16, Reply)

does tossing it by hand make a difference?

( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:24, Reply)

it means they put my choice of ingredients in and toss it in front of me
instead of buying it in a box with what some other fucker thinks tastes good thrown in there
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:27, Reply)

you could just make your own salad at home.

( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:28, Reply)

yeah but that requires organisation

( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:29, Reply)

when you say organisation,
Do you mean shopping?
( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:31, Reply)

yep
i have zero food in my flat unless i am cooking specifically for people. my fridge is nothing but alcohol and evian.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:35, Reply)

She's lying about having salad anyway.
Her lunch is really a wheelbarrow full of pasta & ten doughnuts.
( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:29, Reply)

IF IT'S COLD IT'S SALAD

( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:31, Reply)

I have absolutely no opinion on this subject matter
Can you throw in breasts as an alt: please?
( hartley hare Just some prick who thinks it doesn't apply to him, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:09, Reply)

Oh, boy. Computers.

( Amorous Badger NAKED BEA ARTHUR PHOTOS 4U, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:09, Reply)

Amazing eh?

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:10, Reply)

What sort of a cunt would ask this question.

(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:10, Reply)

A gay cunt.

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:10, Reply)

Yeah, I reckon whoever asked this question is currently thinking about putting a cock up his bottom.

(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:13, Reply)

he also had the courtesy to ask you about your lunch
so this is a pretty fucking ungrateful response, in my book.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:13, Reply)

Fuck you, and fuck your lunch, fatty gingertits.

( Amorous Badger NAKED BEA ARTHUR PHOTOS 4U, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:16, Reply)

She has four tits on the front and two on the back.

(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:21, Reply)

christ i forgot about sparky backtits
RIP bert
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:29, Reply)

I miss the sick deluded sister fucker.
I really do.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:32, Reply)

it was some much needed colour around here
we should have a bring back the mentals day. workboresroger, edmund, bert...

also is there any other kind of sisterfucker?
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:35, Reply)

There may be non-delusional ones.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:40, Reply)

well i never

( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:28, Reply)

Surely every answer to this should be "don't care"

(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:17, Reply)

Don't know, mush!

(Set your faces to Stunned Bigly, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:18, Reply)

But I know I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:22, Reply)

DEWN'T KNEW MERSH

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:45, Reply)

I felt that I didn't care enough to post that.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:20, Reply)

I just got a spam email from Kylie Minogue.

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:20, Reply)

Monty's probably talking to her on the phone right now.

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:21, Reply)

Oh didn't you know, he was the one who diagnosed her breast cancer.

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:21, Reply)

He gets celebrities calling him up at work all the time.
The last one was Nigella Lawson I believe.
( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:22, Reply)

I got one from Leonardo di Caprio.
Apparently he thought I'd care about elephants, or some shit.
( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:24, Reply)

You'll probably try to eat them frenchy.

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:26, Reply)

+with mayo

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:27, Reply)

I don't even know where he got my address from.

( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:29, Reply)

Kate Winslet told him

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:32, Reply)

I never should have accepted her FB request.

( Kroney, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:42, Reply)

A Titanic fail

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 13:00, Reply)

because JESUS.

( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:26, Reply)

I think it's because GAY.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:43, Reply)

Why do hotdogs come in packs of 8 and hotdog buns in packs of 7!!! B
And why does your mum only have 3 orifices when there are 10 men waiting!!!???111
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:50, Reply)

I've already done my thread for the day, it's someone elses chance to shine.

(PsychoChomp, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 12:56, Reply)

I've done one. It's about the NHS. Just for you.

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 11 Mar 2013, 13:01, Reply)