Technology Calculators

MB (Megabyte) measures data size/storage, while Mbps (Megabits per second) measures transfer speed. 1 Byte = 8 bits, so 1 MB = 8 Mb. A 100 Mbps connection downloads at roughly 12.5 MB/s in ideal conditions. When calculating download times, convert file size to megabits and divide by connection speed in Mbps. Real-world speeds are typically 70-90% of advertised rates due to protocol overhead, network congestion, and other factors.

RAM requirements vary by use: Basic tasks (browsing, email) need 4-8 GB. Office work and multitasking require 8-16 GB. Photo editing and gaming need 16-32 GB. Video editing and 3D rendering require 32-64 GB. Virtual machines and servers need 64+ GB. Consider: OS uses 2-4 GB, each browser tab uses 50-200 MB, and applications can use 500 MB to several GB. Always leave 20-30% free for optimal performance. Our calculator factors in your specific applications and multitasking needs.

Server power consumption depends on: CPU (65-250W), RAM (3-5W per module), storage (5-10W per drive), GPU if present (150-350W), and motherboard/fans (50-100W). A typical server uses 300-500W at average load. Annual cost = (Watts × Hours per day × Days × Rate per kWh) / 1000. At $0.12/kWh, a 400W server costs about $420/year. Don't forget cooling—data centers use 1.5-2x server power for cooling. Our calculator includes PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) for accurate total costs.

Download/upload times depend on: Connection speed (the primary factor), file size, network congestion (slower during peak hours), protocol overhead (typically 10-20%), server speed (can bottleneck fast connections), WiFi vs ethernet (wired is 20-50% faster), and distance to server. Calculate basic time: (File size in MB × 8) / (Speed in Mbps) = seconds. A 1 GB file on 100 Mbps takes about 80-85 seconds accounting for overhead. Our calculator factors in real-world conditions for accurate estimates.

Cloud providers charge for: Data egress (outbound transfer, typically $0.05-$0.12 per GB), data ingress (usually free), inter-region transfers ($0.01-$0.02 per GB), and content delivery (CDN, $0.02-$0.08 per GB). Costs vary by provider and region. AWS charges nothing for first 100 GB/month, then $0.09/GB. To calculate: Monthly GB × Rate + (Requests / 10,000 × Request rate). For high-traffic sites, CDN usage can cost $100-$1,000+ monthly. Our calculator compares costs across major providers and helps optimize your architecture.

PPI (Pixels Per Inch) measures screen pixel density. Higher PPI means sharper images. Calculate: PPI = √(width² + height²) / diagonal inches. A 1920×1080 24-inch monitor has 92 PPI, while a 4K 27-inch has 163 PPI. For comfortable viewing: <100 PPI shows pixelation, 100-150 PPI is good for general use, 150-200 PPI is excellent, 200+ PPI is 'retina' (pixels invisible at normal distance). Optimal viewing distance = (Screen diagonal × 1.5) to (Screen diagonal × 2.5). Higher PPI requires more GPU power for gaming.

Subnet calculation involves: Network address (first IP), broadcast address (last IP), subnet mask (defines network size), and usable hosts (total IPs - 2). CIDR notation /24 means 256 IPs (254 usable). /25 = 128 IPs, /26 = 64 IPs, /27 = 32 IPs, /28 = 16 IPs. Formula: Usable hosts = 2^(32 - CIDR) - 2. For 192.168.1.0/24: network = 192.168.1.0, broadcast = 192.168.1.255, usable = 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254. Our calculator shows all details including wildcard mask and IP classes.

Battery life calculation: Runtime (hours) = Battery capacity (Wh) / Power consumption (W) × Efficiency factor (0.8-0.9). For mAh batteries: Wh = (mAh × Voltage) / 1000. A 5000 mAh phone battery at 3.7V = 18.5 Wh. With 2W average use, expect 7-8 hours. Factors affecting life: Screen brightness (biggest drain), apps running, network connectivity (LTE uses more than WiFi), temperature (cold reduces capacity 20-30%), and battery age (loses 20% capacity in 2-3 years). Our calculator accounts for these real-world factors.

CPU performance depends on: Clock speed (GHz), core count, architecture (newer is more efficient), cache size, and workload type. For single-threaded tasks, higher clock speed wins. Multi-threaded workloads benefit from more cores. Rough comparison: Performance = Cores × Clock speed × IPC (instructions per clock). A 6-core 3.5 GHz CPU isn't automatically faster than a 4-core 4.0 GHz CPU—architecture matters. Gaming prefers high clock speeds (8 cores at 4+ GHz). Video editing and rendering prefer more cores (12-16+). Use benchmark scores (Cinebench, Geekbench) for accurate comparisons.