Its also to do with the cache size. For instance if you buy a Samsung F1 1Tb 32mb, thats 32mb taken off straight away for caching.
Once you install Windows then its further reduced with NTFS data and MTF data.
Hi Swarfega,
I'm sorry man, but you are mixing up a few things in your post.
First, the 32mb cache is a separate memory chip on the disk's controller,
it has nothing to do with the space on the platters.
The loss of space by MTF, and NTFS cluster size is also a different matter,
because it will only reflect on the amount of free/used space, not the disk size.
The one and only reason for the difference in size is this:
Let's take a disk that the manufacturer claims has 160 Gbyte.
The real size of the disk is 160.000.000.000 Bytes.
The manufacturer takes off the zeros leaving 160 Gbyte.
They actually divide it three times by a 1000, but that's a sales trick.
They should divide it three times by 1024
160.000.000.000 bytes (/1024) = 156.250.000 Kbytes
156.250.000 Kbytes (/1024) = 152.587 Mbytes
152.587 Mbytes (/1024) = 149 Gbytes
So:
160.000.000.000 bytes = 149Gb
That's why 160 Gb in the shop = 149 Gb in your computer.
It's a rip off. Nothing more nothing less.
It dates back to the floppy days, but with disks growing bigger, the difference gets worse and worse.
A so called 1TB disk in fact only has 931 Gbytes.
That's 69Gb less,
That's a very nice Win7 partition worth of space.
Or 15 full quality DVD films,
Or 108 wav quality CD rips,
Or 15.700 average MP3's at highest quality.
And a 320 GB, only got 298? Why doesnt it just say "150 GB HDD" and "300 GB HDD" then? :huh:
