Computer memory is a very essential part of a computer system.  It is commonly referred to as RAM (Random Access Memory).

When a user opens an application or program and any files opened on that application, they are loaded into the RAM.

But once these files are saved and closed, the files are written into the specified storage device.  The files and the application are then purged from the RAM.

RAM is the temporary or volatile storage area utilized by the CPU (Central Processing Unit).  With RAM, you can both read and write data.

SIMM and DIMM are the two commonly types of computer memory.

Single In-line memory module (SIMM) is dedicated to store memory chips while Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM) is used to hold memory chips.

DIMM has a 64-bit upgrade path because of the Pentium processor requirements.  With this, DIMMs can be installed one at a time unlike SIMM.

DIMM provides twice as much data as a single SIMM.  Command address and control signals are buffered on the DIMM.

To determine the type of memory that fits your computer is to verify first the requirements of your computer system’s motherboard.

If your motherboard supports DDR 400/333/366, then you can choose the memory speed and capacity you prefer.

1 Gigabyte is the recommended computer memory capacity.  It would be excellent if you can install 2GB or greater.

Higher memory capacity can help increase the speed in loading and opening the computer and applications installed.

Brief Introduction of Computer Memory is a post from: Computer Spot

Incoming search terms:

• brief introduction computer memory (2)
• brief introduction of computer memory (1)

Computers have different types of storage devices. The non volatile storage devices used in computers are called hard drives.

In hard drives, data are stored on magnetic surfaces in the form of platters. Data is stored in digitally encoded format in hard drives.

Hard drives were introduced for use with general purpose computers. later they were expanded to facilitate much more uses like video recorders, PDAs, video game consoles etc. tolerance of hard drives are high as compared to the normal floppy disk drives.

As a result, hard drives can store more amounts of data as compared to the removable storage media. They have a faster access and transmission as well.

RAM is another category of computer storage. This is the abbreviation for random access storage and as the name indicates, it allows a random access without the need for accessing in an order.

RAM in modern computers is in the form of integrated circuits and hence data can be retrieved from any location in a constant time.

In such an access mode, the physical location of the data or the relation of data to its previous pieces becomes irrelevant. This differentiates it from the storage mechanisms used in hard drives and optical discs.

The movements in such devices take more time than data transfer and hence the time taken to return data will depend on the physical location of data.

RAM is associated with a volatile form of memory. As soon as the power is switched off, this memory contents will be lost.

There are different forms of RAM such as SRAM, DRAM, etc. swapping is performed in computers when RAM becomes low due to intensive applications.

In such cases, computers use hard drive space as an additional memory. A constant relying on RAM is not advised as this is unreliable.

Hard drives and RAM is a post from: Computer Spot