MB,GB,GHZ - whats the difference?

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Level 1

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MB,GB,GHZ - whats the difference?

I've been using computers for years, and still get confused with the specs.

there are GB, which stores info, and then there are MB (which can also be called GB once it reaches 1,000mb) which ...i dunno what the difference is since its called the same as the part that stores the info (GB) and then there are GHZ, which says how fast the computer is, even though having more MB (or GB if over 1,000MB) also makes your computer faster...

that paragraph makes me confused also...

what im getting at is - what's what?

i currently have 250GB, 256MB, and 2.1GHZ

i want to upgrade from 256MB to 2GB (which would mean i'd have 250GB & 2GB - so why not just say i have 252GB?)
but what different will it make?
does adding more memory make the overall computer faster (even though thats what the GHZ determines) or will it just make it run better; less lag time and whatnot.

...help...
thanks.

iMac G5 20'' (isight), Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Sep 23, 2006 11:10 PM

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Answer 1

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Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Sep 25, 2006 9:57 AM in response to Kyle Roll5

GHz = 1,000,000,000 Hz - This is a measurement of how fast something occurs or operates.

MB = 1,048,576 bytes or 1,000,000 Bytes - This is typically used to measure storage capacity. One byte is 8 bits.

GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes or 1,000,000,000 bytes or 1,000 MB

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Answer 2

Niel

Level 10

726,863 points

Sep 24, 2006 9:55 AM in response to Kyle Roll5

i currently have 250GB

This means that you have a 250GB hard disk installed in the machine.

256MB

Your computer has one or more RAM modules installed which total 256MB.

2.1GHZ

This is the computer's clock speed. The clock speed itself is not affected by other factors, such as installed RAM, but the actual speed at which the computer can process data is.

i want to upgrade from 256MB to 2GB (which would mean i'd have 250GB & 2GB - so why not just say i have 252GB?)

The two numbers measure different things and cannot be added to produce anything meaningful.

does adding more memory make the overall computer faster (even though thats what the GHZ determines) or will it just make it run better; less lag time and whatnot.

Your experience will be better with 2GB of RAM compared to 256MB.

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