If a number ends with 0,5,6,7,8, or 9, the following noun is used in genitive plural. Do measurement units make an exception or not?
Compare:
В стаде триста девяносто коров. (
В стаде тристо девяносто корова.)Файл весит триста девяносто мегабайт/мегабайтов.
So, which one is correct in the second sentence? Strangely, in case of length measurements, such as километров, метров, миль it is obvious that only genitive plural is acceptable, and not the nominative. However in case of байт, грамм, ватт, etc, I can't figure out which version is more correct.
In case of numbers ending with 1, 2, 3, and 4, there seems to be no discrepancy, because all the measurement units seem to follow the regular pattern (nominative singular for 1, genitive singular for 2,3,4).
Файл весит двадцать четыре мегабайта. (obviously never
двадцать четыре мегабайт)