How do I typeset units like MB, GB (megabytes, gigabytes)?

Question

Is there a simple way to typeset byte units like MB, GB, TB in latex in math mode? How do you typeset 1GB for example?

Answer 1

You can use siunitx, which supports both SI- and binary prefixes. Its main macro, \SI, works in math mode as well as in text:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[binary-units=true]{siunitx}

\begin{document}
    For example, $x = \SI{1}{\giga\byte}$ or \SI{1}{\gibi\byte}.
\end{document}

See page 38 of the siunitx manual for further information.