One million cycles per second — used to measure the speed of a CPU chip. Different chips run at different speeds, as shown in the chart. As you move down the chart, CPU performance and cost both increase. Your final decision should be based on your budget and intended use. See also HERTZ. END memory MEMORY CAPACITY The amount of information a computer can store in memory. Bytes are used to measure both computer memory (RAM) and the storage capacity of floppy disks, CD-ROM drives, and hard drives. BYTE One character. A character can be a number, letter or symbol. Note: A byte consists of 8 bits. KILOBYTE (K) Approximately one thousand characters, or one page of double spaced text. MEGABYTE (MB) Approximately one million characters, or one novel. GIGABYTE (GB) Approximately one billion characters, or one thousand novels.
