| Part Three - What's inside the box? - RAM |
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| Work - Computer Primer | |||||||||||||||||
| Written by mbrock | |||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, 21 May 2008 20:44 | |||||||||||||||||
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RAM, or Random Access Memory, is a type of data storage in your computer. It can be considered as your computer's "main memory". RAM consists of a group of computer chips on a small circuit board - sometimes called a "stick". Your computer motherboard has one stick, or more, of RAM attached to it. The memory sticks are about 5 inches wide by 2 inches tall and snap into a socket on your computer's motherboard. Most PC's are designed so that RAM is easily replaceable. RAM has no moving parts and it's contents can be accessed randomly. This makes RAM a very fast type of memory - and in the computer world everything needs to be as fast as it can be. You might ask "So if RAM is so fast then why isn't everything stored in RAM?" Here's why: RAM is a volatile type of memory. This means that it loses its contents when the power to your computer is turned off. Data cannot be permanently stored in RAM. For permanent data storage there are other solutions (such hard drives). RAM is only useful when your computer is turned on and data has been loaded into it.Your computer uses RAM to speed things up. When you launch an application, such as a web browser, your computer loads the application from your hard drive into the RAM. Once the application is in RAM the computer can process the application's data very quickly. Since the basic storage unit of a computer, a bit, only deals with two numbers (0's and 1's), RAM stick sizes will always be some power of 2. Calculating actual RAM sizes can be tricky. For instance, it is a common misconception that 1 Kilobyte equals 1000 bytes. This is not true. 1KB is actually equal to 1024 bytes. 1024 is the power of 2 (2^10) that is closest to 1000, hence the term Kilo (Kilo means 1000). RAM sizes are generally given in Megabytes, or MB. 1MB is roughly one million bytes*. Common RAM stick sizes are 256MB, 512MB, and 1024MB. 1024MB is also known as 1GB (Gigabyte). So how much RAM does your computer need? How much RAM you need all depends on what you use your computer for. If you only use your computer for email and internet browsing, you could get by with as little as 256MB of RAM. If you do video editing, play complex games, or do any graphics intensive computing you will need 1GB or more of RAM. 512MB of RAM is adequate for most computer users. If you want to add more RAM to your PC there are some things you need to know. First you need to know what kind of RAM to get for your particular motherboard. There are many different types and speeds of RAM. You need to know what works with your computer. You also need to know if you have any available memory slots on your motherboard. Motherboards generally have 2, 3, or 4 total slots for RAM. If your RAM slots are full, you will need to remove one of your current sticks in order to put a new one in. RAM is easy to upgrade if you know what you need. It's figuring what you need that's the hard part.
How to install memory: Computer Memory Sizes:
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