Understing Bits & Bytes

[Kill(V)Y8200]

i have a decent amount of PC knowledge in comparison to the average joe, but i know this is the place to be when ur stumped. despite the fact, as simple as this system may be im most likely over complicating it for myself.

i was wondering if anyone could help me understand the system. how bits and bytes work? ive researched through www.howstuffworks.com and wikipedia.com but im confused when it comes to counting throught the binary system and what they mean when they say a 32 bit system. now i know a 32 bit number is a sequence of digits 32 bits long-or- basically a 32 digit number consisting only of 0s and 1s, but what also gets me is how an 8bit system can represent only 256 values, why not 257 etc. like i said im sry if this seems stupid to some or confusing, but any help to an anxious learner would be appreciated-thanx

[doctorgonzo]

1 bit can represent 2 values: 0 or 1.
2 bits can represent 4 values: 00, 01, 10, 11.
3 bits can represent 8 values: 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, 111.

Notice the progression here: 1 bit can represent 2 values, or 2^1, 2 bits can represent 4 values, or 2^2, 3 bits can represent 8 values, or 2^3.

Thus, 8 bits can represent 2^8 values, which is 256. 32 bits gives you a bit more than 4 billion values (2^32 or 4294967296 to be precise). It's all based on powers of two.

[Kill(V)Y8200]

thanx man, that lil bit helped clear up alot of confusion, only thing i dont understand is that CPUs that list they have a 32bit or 64bit processor why dont they just note its rating in bytes or accordingly... or is it just the industry standard?

[doctorgonzo]

It's just industry standard, and it started back when the first processors were 4 bits (the great Intel 4004), then they went to 8 bits, then 16, then 32, and now 64.

[Kill(V)Y8200]

so im guessing the next big thing is gonna be 128bits. with the way things are going though i dont doubt it wont be long >). but thanx man preciate ur help