Mebibit
Encyclopedia
The mebibit is a multiple of the bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...

, a unit of digital information storage, prefixed by the standards-based multiplier mebi (symbol Mi), a binary prefix
Binary prefix
In computing, a binary prefix is a specifier or mnemonic that is prepended to the units of digital information, the bit and the byte, to indicate multiplication by a power of 2...

 meaning 220. The unit symbol of the mebibit is Mibit or Mib.
1 mebibit = 220 bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...

s = = 1024 kibibit
Kibibit
The kibibit is a multiple of the bit, a unit of digital information storage, prefixed by the standards-based multiplier kibi , a binary prefix meaning 210...

s


This unit is most useful for measuring RAM and ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...

 chip capacity.

The mebibit is closely related to the megabit
Megabit
The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix mega is defined in the International System of Units as a multiplier of 106 , and therefore...

 which equals 106 bits = 1,000,000 bits, but is sometimes used to denote the mebibit value in traditional computer technology writing.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, video game manufacturers would sometimes report the amount of internal cartridge ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...

 (in megabits) on their packaging. 1 megabit equaled 128 kibibyte
Kibibyte
The kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use...

; 8 megabits were 1 mebibyte
Mebibyte
The mebibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The binary prefix mebi means 220, therefore 1 mebibyte is . The unit symbol for the mebibyte is MiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 2000 and has been accepted for use by all major...

 of ROM containing game instructions and data.

The binary prefixes are not part of the International System of Units
International System of Units
The International System of Units is the modern form of the metric system and is generally a system of units of measurement devised around seven base units and the convenience of the number ten. The older metric system included several groups of units...

(SI).
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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