Computer Memory
>> Saturday, February 4, 2012
Memory is one of the functions of the brain that enables to store and remember the past events. Similarly, in computers the term memory refers to a chip that stores data. It also enables us to retrieve the stored data. The processor retrieves information stored in the memory for processing data. The storage capacity of a memory depends on the type of the memory package used.
Types of Computer Memory:
Computer memory can be divided into two types, volatile memory and non volatile memory. Volatile memory temporarily stores the data. It loses data as soon as the system supply is turned off. Non-volatile memory stores data permanently. It does not lose the data even if the system supply is turned off.
Physical Memory:
Physical memory is the total amount of memory installed in the computer. For example, if the computer has two 1GB memory modules installes, it has a total of 2GB of physical memory.
The different types of physical memory are:
RAM
ROM
PROM
EPROM
EEPROM/flash ROM
Flash Memory
Flash memory is the high density device. It is a non volatile memory. It is fast in reading and writing data. This is because it writes data in chunks or blocks. Flash memory is an electrically re-progarammable device. The contents from the flash memory are erased in blocks and not in bytes. The block size can range from 256 bytes to 16 kb. Flash memory can replace hard disk in portable computers.
It is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products. Some of the latest memory cards include Multimedia cards (MMC), Secure Digital (SD), CompactFlash, Memory Stick, xD-Picture Card and SmartMedia.
Cache Memory:
Cache memory is a small and fast memory which is placed between the CPU and main memory. It is accessed at a very high speed than the system memory. As a result, the programs which access the same data
or instructions over and over run faster. The CPU does not have to traverse to the main memory to get the data. It will first access the cache to find the data.
Types of Computer Memory:
Computer memory can be divided into two types, volatile memory and non volatile memory. Volatile memory temporarily stores the data. It loses data as soon as the system supply is turned off. Non-volatile memory stores data permanently. It does not lose the data even if the system supply is turned off.
Physical Memory:
Physical memory is the total amount of memory installed in the computer. For example, if the computer has two 1GB memory modules installes, it has a total of 2GB of physical memory.
The different types of physical memory are:
RAM
ROM
PROM
EPROM
EEPROM/flash ROM
Flash Memory
Flash memory is the high density device. It is a non volatile memory. It is fast in reading and writing data. This is because it writes data in chunks or blocks. Flash memory is an electrically re-progarammable device. The contents from the flash memory are erased in blocks and not in bytes. The block size can range from 256 bytes to 16 kb. Flash memory can replace hard disk in portable computers.
It is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products. Some of the latest memory cards include Multimedia cards (MMC), Secure Digital (SD), CompactFlash, Memory Stick, xD-Picture Card and SmartMedia.
Cache Memory:
Cache memory is a small and fast memory which is placed between the CPU and main memory. It is accessed at a very high speed than the system memory. As a result, the programs which access the same data
or instructions over and over run faster. The CPU does not have to traverse to the main memory to get the data. It will first access the cache to find the data.
0 comments:
Post a Comment