RAM - The one which decides your PC speed

Hello readers, This is my first post here at blogger. So please do support me :) Well Before jumping into the real world ( pc tricks) let me introduce a basic and an important device of the computers - RAM.  So what a RAM actually is ? Well, its just a memory device. There are two kinds of memory which are used in computers

1) Primary Memory

2)Secondary Memory

We will focus on primary memory here as RAM is a part of primary memory. Primary memory is fast, light and consumes less power. It is a static device and rotating parts are involved in it as in hard disks. As you know, the storage capacity of computer is measured in bytes.

Primary memory stores data, programs etc which are currently needed by the CPU. The CPU communicates directly only with the main memory. CPU works at a very high speed and its matching memory must be fast, right? Primary memory devices provide the matching speed. RAM is volatile( the contents gets erased once the computer is switched off) 

So, what are the functions of  primary memory? Well, They include 

1) To contain the copy of the main operating system. Operating system is loaded into RAM when the system is turned on

2) Temporarily store a copy of application program that is currently being executed. 

3)temporarily store the data input required for processing. for ex: Suppose you are filling up a login form, even after you enter your password, the input will temporarily loaded only up till you fill the whole details like password etc. 

4)Temporarily store the output till it is transferred to the output device

 There are two types of primary memories 1)RAM (Random access memory)2) ROM

I will only be dealing with RAM for now 

RAM is the main memory of the computer. Users can write information into the RAM and read information from it. It has Random acess property that means any memory location can be accessed in a random manner unlike going through any other memory location.

There are two types of RAM. One is the Static RAM and the other a Dynamic RAM

Static RAM retains stored information as long as power supply is on but a dynamic RAM loses its stored information in a very short time ( A few milliseconds to be precise) Therefore dynamic RAM's have to be refreshed periodically (approx 2 ms).

        

 Dynamic RAM is cheaper as they consume less power. Static RAM is costlier and comsumes more power. The RAM we generally use in PC's are all generally Dynamic RAM's as they are cheaper. 

 These are the basics of RAM a computer user needs to know.