HD Advertised Capacity is such a SCAM!

[Namuna]

For the unfamiliar, when Manufactuers market their Hard Drives, they're rounding down the size of a kilobyte to 1000bytes (instead of the proper 1024bytes). So when they advertise, for instance, a 200gb Hard Drive...It's actually 200gb based on if a kilobyte were 1000bytes!...Which it's NOT, the proper size is 1024bytes equals a kilobyte. And the difference eqates to ~7% less of the rated capacity once it's formatted. So that 200gb drive only actually gives you 186gb formatted!

Back when the mainstream size of hard drives were in the hundreds of megabytes, this little "gimmick" of using 1000bytes was tolerated...Losing tens of megabytes didn't "hurt" all that much.

But now that we're into the hundreds of GIGABYTES, why are we (as consumers) still tolerating the practice of Manufacturers using 1000bytes???

I was all excited about my recently receiving my 300gb HD that I got a great deal on...Until I formatted the thing!...279gb formatted!!! A loss of 21gb!!!

HD capacity is growing by leaps and bounds and the prices for it are shrinking just as rapidly...So I guess it's just something everyone is going to continue to let slide.

Sorry for ranting, it just upsets me to see something as glaringly misleading as this be tolerated.

 

[Glavinsolo]

This has been known for years

 

[imported_LoKe]

Knowing this, why not base your purchase of the hard ware based on it's actual capacity?

 

[Viperoni]

Is it the HD manufacturers fault that the OS makers specify a kilobyte to be 1024 byes?

What about file systems where a kilobyte is only 1000 bytes?

 

[NFS4]

 

[eelw]

It's a decimal/binary thing dumbass!!!!!! And since this is a tech board, one would think we would all know this.

 

[MazerRackham]

Hello and Welcome to 1983.

 

[Sluggo]

So your real issue here is that you have to find another storage solution for all of your

pr0n <------Prolly NSFW link

 

[JujuFish]

Actually, a kilobyte IS 1000 bytes. A kibibyte is 1024 bytes.

 

[Vinfinite]

Feel the love!

 

[jiwq]

When I right clickroperties on my 200GB hd, it shows 200,000,000,000 bytes and change, so I'm happy. 1000 bytes = KB seems perfectly logical to me.

 

[mugs]

It is kind of stupid, because the only people who consider a kilobyte to be 1000 bytes are pedantic scientists who are pissed that computer nerds stole their SI prefixes and used them to represent the binary approximations.

 

[cpacini]

Read

 

[FreshPrince]

Originally posted by: Namuna
For the unfamiliar, when Manufactuers market their Hard Drives, they're rounding down the size of a kilobyte to 1000bytes (instead of the proper 1024bytes). So when they advertise, for instance, a 200gb Hard Drive...It's actually 200gb based on if a kilobyte were 1000bytes!...Which it's NOT, the proper size is 1024bytes equals a kilobyte. And the difference eqates to ~7% less of the rated capacity once it's formatted. So that 200gb drive only actually gives you 186gb formatted!

Back when the mainstream size of hard drives were in the hundreds of megabytes, this little "gimmick" of using 1000bytes was tolerated...Losing tens of megabytes didn't "hurt" all that much.

But now that we're into the hundreds of GIGABYTES, why are we (as consumers) still tolerating the practice of Manufacturers using 1000bytes???

I was all excited about my recently receiving my 300gb HD that I got a great deal on...Until I formatted the thing!...279gb formatted!!! A loss of 21gb!!!

HD capacity is growing by leaps and bounds and the prices for it are shrinking just as rapidly...So I guess it's just something everyone is going to continue to let slide.

Sorry for ranting, it just upsets me to see something as glaringly misleading as this be tolerated.

21GB? pfft...try formatting an 8TB volume...

 

[Baked]

Wow, you're smart.

 

[villageidiot111]

I thought everyone here knew this.

 

[lyssword]

yeah so? if all HD manufacturers use this then whats the deal? 300 gb hd will equal size to another 300gb hd from other manufacturer. Its like paying taxes on storebought items, you get 8% or whatever tax on top of actual price.

 

[enyce2k9]

my 250 is 232 , at least its an even number!

 

[Eeezee]

You're wrong, a kilobyte is 1000 bytes if you're using the metric system. Computers don't use the metric system.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
You're wrong, a kilobyte is 1000 bytes if you're using the metric system. Computers don't use the metric system.

Mmmmmk.... first of all, bytes are not a metric or SI unit. Secondly, you contradicted yourself.

 

[dethman]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Eeezee
You're wrong, a kilobyte is 1000 bytes if you're using the metric system. Computers don't use the metric system.

Mmmmmk.... first of all, bytes are not a metric or SI unit. Secondly, you contradicted yourself.

someone needs their sarcasm meter adjusted.

and as to the OP's rant...seriously get with the times. this has been covered ad nauseum.

 

[blahblah99]

Technically, a KILO of any unit is 1000 qty of that unit.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: MazerRackham
Hello and Welcome to 1983.

:thumbsup:

 

[Namuna]

Ahhhhhh, the overwhelming "love" in responses is joyous.

Sorry to bring up such an OLD topic, I just wanted to rant because I was all excited about getting my new "300gb" drive to have a chunk of the happy chopped down when I see it only formats to 279gb and was reminded of the 1000bytes/1024bytes BS.

 

[DaShen]

This is news how?