Anyone who usually accesses the Windows Task Manager may have already noticed that the real-time calculation of PC memory usage is done in “megahertz”, or “MHz”. However, an update from Microsoft for the Windows 11 should change this metric, adopting “megatransfers per second”, or simply “MT/s”.
The reason for this, as pointed out by tipster “PhantomOcean3” on X (ex-Twitter), is to allow Microsoft to make a more accurate calculation of memory consumption during activities and applications in use on a computer.
As pointed out by the user in the post above, the change from MHz to MT/s appeared in build 22635.3570 of the beta version of Windows 11. Microsoft released the version for exclusive download for members of the Windows Insider program on the 3rd, bringing features such as duplication of tabs in File Explorer and the temporary stoppage of Copilot distributionfollowing complaints from the community.
And there is the issue of changing the memory measurement unit, as pointed out by Microsoft itself…
Changing the unit of measurement, in this case, is more than a simple change of letters. The current model – MHz – works in a counting format involving “millions of cycles per second”, essentially analyzing the time it takes a memory to change its state from one point to another.
In Computer Science, a “state” corresponds to how a system was before executing an activity, versus after it. “Before opening this app, Windows was like this, and it changed to another way after the app opened”, for example. The computer’s memory is what reads both states and allows you to go back and forth between them quickly.
The new unit – MT/s – works in a slightly more in-depth way: instead of focusing on changing states, this standard analyzes “millions of data transfers per second”. In short, the measurement is made closer to real time, evaluating changes as they occur.
Okay, but why did Microsoft decide to make this change now? Well, because of the market: globally recognized companies that manufacture memory chips – Kingston, Corsair, Intel, Micronamong others – have either already adopted the new format, or are in the process of adopting it, including publishing dedicated pages with clarifications on their official websites.
It wasn’t enough that the market is migrating to the new standard – which would prove to be a problem for Microsoft if it stayed within the “MHz” – the use of “MT/s” as a unit of measurement is simply better, as it is more detailed in terms of your memory usage calculation during your activities with a PC.
This is because memory usage in MHz is close to reality, but it is an approximate number and, as applications gain new and heavier resources, a more incisive metric may become necessary.
If you want to understand more about memories, TudoCelular has put together a guide with all the necessary informationincluding how to choose the best chip for your computer.
