A measurement determines a dimension, capacity, or quantity of an object, or the duration of a task.

In computers, measurements are constantly occurring and determining the computer’s function. These measurements include whether a storage medium has enough space to store a file, the CPU’s current temperature, and how long the user is idle.

Processor speed measurements

The following measurements are used when measuring the frequency (speed) of a computer CPU (central processing unit) and are related to the computer’s clock speed. The following list is of processor speeds from lowest to highest.

  • Processor speed measurements

  • Capacity measurements

  • Transmission measurements

  • All computer-related measurements

  • Hz (Hertz)

  • kHz (kilohertz)

  • MHz (megahertz)

  • GHz (gigahertz)

Capacity measurements

The following measurements are used when measuring the capacity or storage of a computer device, like a hard disk drive. The following list is of capacity sizes from lowest to highest.

  • Bit
  • Nibble
  • Byte
  • Kilobyte (kibibyte)
  • Megabyte (mebibyte)
  • Gigabyte (gibibyte)
  • Terabyte (tebibyte)
  • Petabyte (pebibyte)
  • Exabyte (exbibyte)
  • Zettabyte
  • Yottabyte
  • Ronnabyte
  • Quettabyte

Transmission measurements

Transmission measurements are used when measuring the speed of data transmission. For example, the bandwidth speed of your Internet connection is an example of a transmission speed. The following list is of transmission speeds from lowest to highest.

Not all manufacturers and developers list their value using binary, which is base 2. For example, a manufacturer may list a product’s capacity as one gigabyte (1,000,000,000 bytes, a metric value) and not 1,073,741,824 bytes (gibibyte). Below, we’re showing both links, when applicable.

  • Bit
  • Kilobit
  • Megabit
  • Gigabit
  • Terabit
  • Petabit
  • Exabit

Below is a listing of the different computer measurements you may encounter while working with a computer or in the computer field.

Calibration, Measure app, Rotational delay, SI, Size

  • How much is 1 byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, etc.?