COMPUTER MEMORY

The system memory is the place where the computer holds current programs and data that are in
use. There are various levels of computer memory (memory), including ROM, RAM, cache,
page and graphics, each with specific objectives for system operation. This section focusses on
the role of computer memory, and the technology behind it.
Although memory is used in many different forms around modern PC systems, it can be divided
into two essential types: RAM and ROM. ROM, or Read Only Memory, is relatively small, but
essential to how a computer works. ROM is always found on motherboards, but is increasingly
found on graphics cards and some other expansion cards and peripherals. Generally speaking,
ROM does not change. It forms the basic instruction set for operating the hardware in the system,
and the data within remains intact even when the computer is shut down. It is possible to update
ROM, but it's only done rarely, and at need. If ROM is damaged, the computer system simply
cannot function.
RAM, or Random Access Memory, is "volatile." This means that it only holds data while power
is present. RAM changes constantly as the system operates, providing the storage for all data
required by the operating system and software. Because of the demands made by increasingly
powerful operating systems and software, system RAM requirements have accelerated
dramatically over time. For instance, at the turn of the millennium a typical computer may have
only 128Mb of RAM in total, but in 2007 computers commonly ship with 2Gb of RAM installed,
and may include graphics cards with their own additional 512Mb of RAM and more.
Clearly, modern computers have significantly more memory than the first PCs of the early
1980s, and this has had an effect on development of the PC's architecture. The trouble is, storing
and retrieving data from a large block of memory is more time-consuming than from a small
block. With a large amount of memory, the difference in time between a register access and a
memory access is very great, and this has resulted in extra layers of cache in the storage
hierarchy.

RAM - Computer System Memory

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the main system memory of the computer. A total
of 1024MB of RAM (1GB of RAM) is sufficient in many cases to ensure the overall
system performance is not unduly impaired by the amount of RAM in the system,
but a general purpose computer of today should have 2048MB of RAM (2GB of RAM)
or more.

Click on the picture to see it

enlarged.

Not all computer system memory is the same. For example, DIMM memory modules have been
the common form factor years, but they come in a variety of types, including DDR, DDR2,
DDR3 and DDR4. The type commonly with motherboards today is DDR3. Even among
compatible memory module type, there are a number of manufacturer's from which to choose.
It's not only important to purchase RAM that's compatible with your computer, it's important to
choose top quality RAM. Many computer problems are due to the use of sub-quality RAM.
Companies such as Kingston and Corsair have good reputations, and Mushkin makes the highest
quality RAM for those willing to pay a premium price, but for top quality RAM without paying
extra the place to go is Crucial.
Crucial memory comes with a lifetime guarantee and shipping is free. And they take the
uncertainty out of compatibility and of knowing which RAM is right for your computer with
their handy advisor. Start by selecting your motherboard (such as ABit, ASUS, EPoX, MSI,
etc.), clicking Go and then follow the selections to find the RAM compatible for your
motherboard. The page listing the compatible memory modules will also show the maximum
amount of memory your particular brand and model of motherboard supports.
UK and European
U.S. and North American Systems
Systems

The Crucial Memory

Advisor™

Select your system and press

The Crucial Memory Advisor™
go!
Top of Form
Select your system and press go!
RAM
Top of Form

Go! 862686 http://w w w .cruc 5033111

Bottom of Form
Go 862686

http://w w w .cruc 10402015

Bottom of Form

As you might guess, each type of DDR memory provides greater performance potential, starting
with DDR, then DDR2, then DDR3, and so on. DDR3 memory modules and higher are more
commonly used in add-on cards, especially video cards.
DDR2 memory modules run at faster speeds than DDR, including effective speeds of 400MHz,
533MHz, 667MHz, 800MHz, 1000MHz and 1067MHz. But DDR2 memory has a higher
latency, meaning it takes more clock cycles to deliver the data. This higher latency actually
causes DDR2 memory to be slower than DDR memory, even when running at higher MHz
speeds. As a general rule, DDR2 memory of 800MHz or higher must be used to equal or exceed
the performance of DDR 400MHz memory. But DDR2 has a great deal of upward potential in
performance, whereas DDR memory tops out at 400MHz. And although they physically don't
look very different, they have significant differences in terms of voltage requirements and
architecture.
For a great deal more information regarding memory and for detailed, step-by-step instructions
on how to install memory, check out my Computer Memory Upgrade - How To Add Or Upgrade
System Memory (RAM) For Your Computer site. If you're wondering about such things as
unbuffered memory, buffered memory, registered memory, parity, non-parity, ECC, or anything
else about memory then this site will help!
I'm often asked if it's better in terms of performance to get one memory module or two memory
modules. For example, is it better to get one memory module of 512MB or two memory modules
of 256MB? With DDR memory like I use in My Super PC, there is a slight performance
improvement using two memory modules instead of one memory module. My own
measurements comparing two 256MB memory modules to one 512MB memory module that are
identical except for size show a two percent to three percent improvement in performance using
the two 256MB memory modules. Running pairs of identical memory like this is called "Dual
Channel", and it is recognized automatically by the motherboard.

DDR2 RAM Timings, Latencies Speeds And Performance

I tried a number of different Crucial memory modules using the same computer
hardware configuration to see for myself what peformance differences there would
be. I ran two different tests, one being the Half-Life 2 benchmark and the other
being the Futuremark 3DMark05 benchmark. This is by no means a comprehensive
set of tests, but it should give a reasonable indication of what to expect. Both tests
are graphics intensive and will give the system RAM a good workout. Both tests
make good overall system performance tests. The Half-Life 2 Benchmark and
PCMark05 benchmarks are run as described on this page, with results given in fps
(frames per second). I describe the Futuremark 3DMark05 Benchmark on this page.

All the memory modules I used were 1GB in size, unbuffered and Non-ECC. The rest
of the hardware in the computer - processor, motherboard, video card - were
identical for each test. I used both standard RAM memory modules and high-end,
performance RAM memory modules, identified as Ballistix by Crucial.

Computer Memory Speed Tests With 1GB of RAM

Each test was done with a single, 1GB memory module. As you can see,
performance improves with each faster memory module. The Half-Life2 Benchmark
appears to be particularly sensive to RAM performance. A 3DMark05 score can vary
by as much as about 100 points on successive runs on the same hardware, so
scores within that range of each other are not significantly different.

Half-Life
PCMark 3DMark
Timin 2
Memory Speed 05 05
gs Benchm
Score Score
ark
PC2-4200 DDR2-533 CL=4 35.3 fps 6278 13330

PC2-5300 DDR2-667 CL=5 36.8 fps 6418 13754

PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL=5 47.3 fps 6468 13921

Ballistix PC2-6400 DDR 4-4-4-

51.0 fps 6504 13977
2-800 12

Ballistix PC2-8500 DDR 5-5-5-

51.8 fps 6454 14060
2-1066 15

Computer Memory Speed Tests With 2GB of RAM

Here are the results from running the same tests with 2GB of RAM. The first entry is
standard, non-performance RAM, that is not even of the same type so it does not
even get the small advantage of performance in dual channel mode. Still very good
RAM of very good quality, but not high-end RAM. The next two entries are different
speeds of high-end RAM. As you can see, the high-end RAM yielded much better
performance, something like 25 percent better. Still, the standard RAM would be
sufficient for many users.

It's really interesting that the performance of the two different types of high-end
RAM is nearly identical. Although the DDR2-1066 RAM has a higher speed, the
DDR2-800 has lower latencies due to faster timings. As a result, the two finish up
about the same.

One thing that is clear is that the quanity of RAM, 2GB instead of 1GB, can make a
big difference, regardless of the type of the smaller quantity of memory.

Each test was done with two, 1GB memory modules.

Half-Life
PCMark 3DMark
Timin 2
Memory Speed 05 05
gs Benchm
Score Score
ark

PC2-4200 DDR2-533 CL=4 82.9 fps 6318 13280

PC2-5300 DDR2-667 CL=5

Ballistix PC2-6400 DDR 4-4-4-

104.4 fps 6509 14282
2-800 12

Ballistix PC2-8500 DDR 5-5-5-

107.5 fps 6488 14280
2-1066 15

How Much Computer Memory Is Enough RAM

The tests emphasize what most experienced PC builders know. Generally speaking
a computer needs 1GB of RAM as a reasonable minimum. A reasonable maximum is
2GB of RAM. It is often the quantity of system memory that makes a big difference
in overall system performance, rather than the actual speed of the system memory.
However, since RAM is one of the bigger bottlenecks in system performance, it may
well be worthwhile to use RAM with a faster speed as well.

Both Windows XP and Windows Vista will perform better with at least 1GB of RAM,
and 2GB is a better rule-of-thumb. If you're using a 32-bit version of the Windows
operating system, such as Windows XP or Windows Vista - and most of us are - then
be aware that the maximum amount of system memory actually available to the
user is between 2.75GB and 3.5GB, as I explain on this page regarding Windows
problems recognizing 4GB of RAM. If you are using Windows 98SE and are looking
to go above 512MB of RAM then you should be aware of this Microsoft Product
Support Service article which documents this problem and my own Fix For "Out Of
Memory" Error On Windows 98/ME Systems After Adding Memory page, which
shows how to fix the problem.

It's perfectly reasonable for many computers to have even more than 2GB of RAM,
depending on the type of applications being used, and especially if the computer is
running a number of applications simultaneously. Computers built with playing PC
games as an important consideration should definitely use as much memory as
their computer will hold.

I have the physical maximum amount supported by the motherboard in My Super

PC, for a total of 4GB. As it turns out, the usable amount of memory available to
applications is 3.25GB, as can be seen on this page. If you really want to be sure
that you have your computer configured with all of the RAM it can use then it needs
to have at least 4GB of RAM physically installed. This is because the usable limit
varies, depending on the computer hardware and configuration. As I mentioned
before, it's somewhere in the range of 2.75GB to 3.5GB. And with prices of RAM so
low, it's tempting to go ahead and max out the computer memory.

memory
Internal storage areas in the computer. The term memory identifies data storage that comes in the
form of chips, and the word storage is used for memory that exists on tapes or disks. Moreover,
the term memory is usually used as a shorthand for physical memory, which refers to the actual
chips capable of holding data. Some computers also use virtual memory, which expands physical
memory onto a hard disk.
Every computer comes with a certain amount of physical memory, usually referred to as main
memory or RAM. You can think of main memory as an array of boxes, each of which can hold a
single byte of information. A computer that has 1 megabyte of memory, therefore, can hold
about 1 million bytes (or characters) of information.
There are several different types of memory:
RAM (random-access memory): This is the same as main memory. When used by
itself, the term RAM refers to read and write memory; that is, you can both write data
into RAM and read data from RAM. This is in contrast to ROM, which permits you only
to read data. Most RAM is volatile, which means that it requires a steady flow of
electricity to maintain its contents. As soon as the power is turned off, whatever data was
in RAM is lost.
 ROM (read-only memory): Computers almost always contain a small amount of
read-only memory that holds instructions for starting up the computer. Unlike RAM,
ROM cannot be written to.
 PROM (programmable read-only memory): A PROM is a memory chip on which
you can store a program. But once the PROM has been used, you cannot wipe it clean
and use it to store something else. Like ROMs, PROMs are non-volatile.
 EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory): An EPROM is a special
type of PROM that can be erased by exposing it to ultraviolet light.
 EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory): An
EEPROM is a special type of PROM that can be erased by exposing it to an electrical
charge.