GUIDE
How much is 5GB of space?
When you get an account with us, you can start by backing up to 5GB for free.
On 5GB you can back up either:
- 2000 pictures from your camera
- 17,500 documents
- 1.450 MP3 files
- 15 minutes of video in best quality (4K)
If 5GB isn't enough for you, you can upgrade your account with us and get unlimited space. Then you don't have to worry about sizes at all.
However, here's a look at how digital files are weighted in size and what it means.
Hopefully, this will help you understand and keep up with backing up your computer.
Place names may be abstract to many when it comes to digital content.
The size of a file cannot be measured in cm and cubic meters but is measured in bits, which are the digital building blocks.
In this blog post, we will simplify things and explain what the size of a file means, giving examples of this so that you can better understand what, for example, 5GB means.
This is the amount of space you can use for free when you sign up.
The space can be used for backup and storing your files in the cloud.
Content
Section 1:
Documents
300 KB - 2 MB
With Onlime, you can back up all types of documents and view them on your phone when you're on the move.
PDF files usually take up more space than plain text files like .doc (Microsoft Word) and .RTF.
Section 2:
Pictures
2 MB - 10 MB
If you have scanned old images into your computer, the size will vary greatly depending on the resolution and quality of the scanner.
If you have an account with Onlime, all your photos will be collected in one timeline, so you can easily access old memories. And with unlimited space, there's room for all your photos from all your devices.
Special image files such as .TIFF and various raw files take up more than 10MB.
Section 3:
Video
GOPRO HERO 4, 1 minute in best quality (4k, 30fps)
iPhone 6, 1 minute in good quality (1080p)
iPhone 6, 1 minute in best quality (4K)
iPhone 7, 1 minute in good quality (1080p)
iPhone 7, 1 minute in best quality (4K)
Samsung Galaxy, 1 minute in best quality (4K)
With unlimited space at Onlime, you don't have to worry about how big your video files are.
There's room for them all, including your big 4K videos, which are starting to become the standard.
Especially when backing up iPhone, it's handy to have plenty of space for those big videos.
Section 4:
Music files
As with all files, the size depends on the quality. You may already be fully converted to streaming music like Spotify or Apple Music, but it's handy to know what the files take up anyway.
3-5 MB: Ordinary MP3 files.
30 - 40MB: CD-quality music files
8-15 MB: 1 minute of audio recording on an iPhone
Section 5:
Computer games
Few MB - 50-60GB
There is a wide variation in the size of computer games. Virtually all sizes are represented here and the trend only looks set to continue. The games industry has been and is evolving massively, so on this front, the size will be constantly varying.
However, there is less need to back up your computer games as you always have either the installation discs or can download the game from the manufacturer's website. However, it may be a good idea to back up your games' stored data.
Section 6:
What is a bit?
Bit is a binary unit. This means that the unit can have 2 values, and when we are talking about digital data, this value can be either 0 or 1.
You may have heard of 'Byte'. A byte is 8 bits, e.g. 11001110 - that's a string of 0s and 1s totalling 8 characters, and that makes one byte.
Typically, a letter or character on your computer takes up 1 byte.
It's common to measure file size in bytes - kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes are words that might sound familiar to most people by now.
Talking about 0's and 1's can get abstract, but a concrete example is the ordinary socket.
Turning it on equals 1 and turning it off equals 0. The socket has only these two values that you can assign to it. If you imagine that you make a series of 8 'presses on the switch' - for example "on, on, off, on, off, off, off, on" then you have 8 values - hence one byte.
It looks suspiciously like Morse code.
As you can imagine, image files and documents quickly become many 'clicks of the switch' as the content gets larger, the document longer or the image more detailed. That's why long lines of 0s and 1s are abbreviated into kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes. Because computers think binary, space and memory are measured in values of 2. This means that:
Kilobyte (KB) is 1024 bytes (2^10)
Megabyte (MB) is 1,048,576 bytes (2^20)
Gigabyte (GB) is 1,073,741,824 bytes (2^30)
So when a file is 1 megabyte (MB), the computer has to 'read' 1,048,576 0s and 1s. This happens on our computers in a split second.
To give it some perspective, it's handy to know the following:
1024 MB = 1 GB
It can still be abstract with all those numbers, so below you'll get an overview of what different files in everyday life take up. This will help you calculate the space you need and understand the relationship between your files and the size of your computer's hard drive, for example.
Not sure how fast you can back up with us? Take our speed test and check how fast your connection is to our servers.
Why are file sizes important?
File sizes have a direct impact on how many of them you can have on your computer or smartphone. That's why it's important to know about, otherwise it can become incomprehensible if your computer or phone suddenly reports errors about running out of space.
However, the focus on file sizes is not as great as in the past.
In recent years, developments in data storage have been very rapid. Hard drives have become bigger on the inside and smaller on the outside, so data storage has become a matter of course and a point that is not so relevant anymore. Space and price have gone in opposite directions - more space for less price.
With the best cloud storage, the possibilities are endless and space is unlimited. One therefore removes any speculation or awareness of file sizes because, they become insignificant with unlimited space.
Nevertheless, it is a good thing to know. It gives a greater awareness of what goes on behind the screen, and that's what we hope you've got with today's post.
Thank you for reading.
