650
A standard CD holds about 650 megabytes.
- Even
- Composite
Where 650 fits
Why 650 is special
The capacity is often said to have been chosen so that Beethoven's Ninth Symphony would fit on one disc. The story is repeated by Sony itself and disputed in its details, and the more prosaic explanation is that 650 MB is what a 74-minute audio disc holds once encoded.
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (12)
- 1, 2, 5, 10, 13, 25, 26, 50, 65, 130, 325, 650
- Prime factorisation
- 2 × 5^2 × 13
- Digit sum
- 11
- Digital root
- 2
Representations
- Decimal
- 650
- Binary
- 1010001010
- Octal
- 1212
- Hexadecimal
- 28a
- Roman numeral
- DCL
- Scientific notation
- 6.500 × 10^2
Other mathematical patterns
- Abundant number
Related numbers & connections
CD and CD-R capacities. The extra 50 MB came from packing the spiral track slightly tighter within tolerances the drives already met.
View 700 →The 650 sold in thousands and the 704 introduced floating-point hardware; between them they made computing routine and capable.
View 704 →Technology & computing
The IBM 650, delivered from 1954, sold around two thousand units at a time when computers were expected to sell in tens. It was widely installed in universities and became a common teaching machine.
DocumentedTechnology & computingGeography: United StatesPeriod: 1954–1962A CD's roughly 650 MB is widely said to have been set so Beethoven's Ninth would fit. Sony executives have repeated the account and its details do not survive scrutiny; the technical figure is simply what a 74-minute audio disc holds once encoded.
DocumentedTechnology & computing
Common questions
Is 650 a prime number?
No, 650 is not prime.
What are the factors of 650?
The factors of 650 are 1, 2, 5, 10, 13, 25, 26, 50, 65, 130, 325, 650.
What is 650 in Roman numerals?
650 in Roman numerals is DCL.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 2 reviewer-confirmed records, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 3 August 2026