Theory tutorial – Computer RAM

Computer RAM

Computer RAM (or Random Access Memory) is one of the most integral parts of any computer system, from your PC to games console, mobile to TV. It is short term memory that only operates whilst the computer is running and storing any information needed (such as programs) whilst it is running. Very fast access speeds mean it’s quick to read and write information to the RAM, much much quicker than hard drives.

RAM plugs into the motherboard and looks (generally) like a circuit board with a number of microchips attached, they come in multiple types -SDRAM, DDR , DDR2, DDR3, GDDR- and usually have to be matched to a similar type slot in the motherboard (other types won’t fit, won’t work). These slots can be configured in dual channel mode where the architecture allows twice the memory access at once.

This video below describes nicely how memory works, it is a Ted-Ed video and I claim no affiliation.




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