In system design estimation, we often approximate $2^{10}$ as:

Calculated precisely, $2^{10}$ is $1,024$. However, for 'back-of-the-envelope' system design estimations, engineers almost always approximate this as $1,000$ (or $10^3$). This simplification allows for rapid mental math when calculating storage requirements or throughput across different orders of magnitude. While this approximation introduces a small ~2% error, it significantly increases calculation speed and reduces the likelihood of mental math mistakes during high-level design discussions.