Gaming Forums => General Gaming => Topic started by: Squall on February 21, 2003, 04:08:38 PM
Title: Could someone explain to me what "bits" are?
Post by: Squall on February 21, 2003, 04:08:38 PM
And why they aren't important anymore? Thanks
Title: Could someone explain to me what "bits" are?
Post by: Grey Ninja on February 21, 2003, 06:22:47 PM
A bit is 1/8 of a byte. A byte is 1/1024 of a kilobyte. A kilobyte is 1/1024 of a megabyte. a megabyte is 1/1024 of a gigabyte. a gigabyte is 1/1024 of a terrabyte.
and so forth.
a computer uses a certain amount of bits when processing data. The more bittage your processor has, the higher the numbers it can work with. The thing is that after a while, it's really irrelevant how high of numbers you can have is. In addition, many 32 bit processors are tweaked out enough to outperform a 64 bit processor.
Your computer has a 32 bit processor. (At least I hope it does)
And there goes my dummied down version of a computer's workings.
Title: Could someone explain to me what "bits" are?
Post by: RickPowers on February 21, 2003, 06:59:05 PM
That's a lot of great information, Grey Ninja. And yet, you managed to forget to tell him what a BIT is.
A Bit is a ONE or a ZERO in computer binary language, also called ON (1) or OFF (0).
Sometimes, you might hear someone referring to "flipping a bit". It means to change the state of something, just like flipping a light switch.
So here's a fun bit of trivia for you. Have you ever noticed that in many 8-bit games, the number "255" seems to pop up a lot? That's because in binary language, eight bits can only count up to 255 (starting from 0). You can test this with any calculator by multiplying 2 (the number of states in binary) by itself eight times (2^8th power). You'll get 256, or 255 if you start counting at Zero.
Title: Could someone explain to me what "bits" are?
Post by: Grey Ninja on February 21, 2003, 09:48:16 PM
OOPS!!! Something was bothering me about my explanation... (other than the horrid grammar), and I guess now I know what it was.
It's true what they say. Coding totally destroys your ability to communicate clearly.
Title: Could someone explain to me what "bits" are?
Post by: Rogue on February 22, 2003, 05:53:27 AM
A binary digit.
Title: Could someone explain to me what "bits" are?
Post by: Squall on February 22, 2003, 08:40:11 AM
Thanks, you guys have been a lot of help
Title: Could someone explain to me what "bits" are?
Post by: Trippy Pancakes on February 24, 2003, 02:58:09 AM
I know I'm a little late, but if you want even more info on bits, try going to either of these links: