Computer Memory
People often confuses computer RAM with storage. Storage and memory both are similar in the way that they both store things. The main difference is that your RAM only hold data temporarily. Once you turn your computer off, all the information and data stored in your RAM will be gone. On the other hand, you hard drive will store your information permanently as long as you keep them there. It does not matter how many times you turn your computer on or off, your files will still be there.
A common question would be how much RAM do you actually need? This actually is not an easy question to answer. Generally speaking, the more you have, the better the performance. However, you don't want to spend money on super extra performance that you never needed. That is why you need to pick the amount that is just right for you. We offer a complete guide on how to determine "how much memory do you need".
Before we talk more about computer memories, let us explore first how many types of memories there are. When we speak about memory, we refer to memories as the physical memory such as DDR memory or SD RAM memory. However, generally, we divide memories into RAM, ROM, Cache, Flash Memory, Memory Sticks, Virtual Memory and BIOS.
RAM:
RAM is considered "random access" because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell. More about RAM ROM:
Read-only memory (ROM), also known as firmware, is an integrated circuit programmed with specific data when it is manufactured. Cache:
When dealing with computers, most of you must have heard of the term "cahce". Today, computers have L1, L2 and even L3 cache. You may think cache only applies to CPU, but there are many forms of cache such as memory caches, hardware and software disk caches and page caches. Flahs Memory:
Electronic memory comes in a variety of forms to serve a variety of purposes. Flash memory is used for easy and fast information storage in devices including game video consoles and digital cameras. Virtual Memory:
Some times, when we load the operating system or other applications, physical memory is not enough to handle all the tasks. Once the available RAM is filled up, virtual memory comes into play. BIOS:
BIOS, in computing, stands for Basic Input/Output System also incorrectly known as Basic Integrated Operating System
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