RAM is a special microcircuit used to store all sorts of data. There are many varieties of these devices, they are produced by various companies. Top Producers most often of Japanese origin.
What is it and why is it needed?
RAM (the so-called RAM memory) is a type of volatile microcircuit used to store all kinds of information. Most often it contains:
- machine code executable in this moment programs (or those in standby mode);
- input and output data.
Data exchange between the CPU and RAM is carried out in two ways:
- using an ultra-fast register ALU;
- through a special cache (if available in the design);
- directly (directly via the data bus).
The devices under consideration are circuits built on semiconductors. All information stored in various electronic components remains accessible only in the presence of electric current. As soon as the voltage is turned off completely, or a short-term power failure occurs, then everything that was contained inside the RAM is erased or destroyed. The alternative is ROM type devices.
Types and amount of memory
The board today can have a volume of several tens of gigabytes. Modern technical means allow you to use it as quickly as possible. Most operating systems are equipped with the ability to interact with such devices. There is a proportional relationship between the amount of RAM and the cost. The larger it is, the more expensive it is. And vice versa.
Also, the devices in question may have a different frequency. This parameter determines how fast the interaction between the RAM and other PC devices (CPU, data bus and video card) is carried out. The higher the speed of work, the more operations the PC will perform per unit of time.
The value of this characteristic also directly affects the cost of the device in question. The modern fastest modification can "remember" 128 GB. It is produced by a company called Hynix and has the following performance characteristics:
All modern RAM can be divided into two varieties:
- static;
- dynamic.
static type
More expensive today is a static chip. It is marked as SDRAM. Dynamic is cheaper.
Distinctive features of the SDRAM variety are:
Also, a distinctive feature of RAM is the ability to select the bit in which any information will be written.
The disadvantages include:
- low recording density;
- relatively high cost.
Computer RAM devices of all kinds (SDRAM and DRAM) have external differences. They are in the length of the contact part. It also has a different shape. The designation of RAM is both on the sticker label and printed directly on the bar itself.
Today there are many different modifications of SDRAM. It is designated as:
- DDR2;
- DDR3;
- DDR4.
dynamic type
Another type of microchip is designated as DRAM. It is also completely volatile, the bits of the record are accessed randomly. This type is widely used in most modern PCs. It is also used in those computer systems where the requirements for delays are high - the speed of DRAM is an order of magnitude higher than SDRAM.
Most often, this variety has a DIMM type form factor. The same design solution is used for the manufacture of a static circuit (SDRAM). A feature of the DIMM design is that there are contacts on both sides of the surface.
OP parameters
The main criteria for choosing chips of this type are their operating parameters.
You should focus primarily on the following points:
- work frequency;
- timings;
- voltage.
All of them depend on the type of a particular model. For example, DDR 2 will perform various actions unambiguously faster than the DDR 1 bar. Since it has more outstanding performance.
Timings is the delay time of information between different components of the device. There are quite a few types of timings, all of them directly affect performance. Small timings allow you to increase the speed of various operations. There is one unpleasant proportional relationship - the higher the speed of the RAM, the greater the timings.
The way out of this situation is to increase the operating voltage - the higher it is, the smaller the timings become. The number of operations performed per unit of time increases at the same time.
Frequency and speed
The higher the bandwidth of the RAM, the greater its speed. The frequency is a parameter that determines the bandwidth of the channels through which data of various kinds is transmitted to the CPU through the motherboard.
It is desirable that this characteristic coincided with the allowable speed of the motherboard.
For example, if the bar supports a frequency of 1600 MHz, and the motherboard does not exceed 1066 MHz, then the speed of data exchange between the RAM and the CPU will be limited precisely by the capabilities of the motherboard. That is, the speed will be no more than 1066 MHz.
Performance
Speed depends on many factors. The number of slats used has a very large influence on this parameter. Dual channel RAM is an order of magnitude faster than single channel RAM. The ability to support multi-channel modes is indicated on a sticker located on top of the board.
These designations have the following form:
To determine which mode is optimal for a particular motherboard, you need to count the total number of slots for connection, and divide them by two. For example, if there are 4 of them, then you need 2 identical strips from the same manufacturer. When they are installed in parallel, Dual mode is activated.
Working principle and functions
The functioning of the OP is implemented quite simply, writing or reading data is carried out as follows:
- an electrical signal is applied to the required line;
- the transistor opens.
- the electrical charge present in the capacitor is applied to the desired column.
- executable libraries;
- key codes that were pressed;
- results of various mathematical operations.
- Kingston;
- Hynix;
- Corsair;
- kingmax.
- Samsung.
- OS: Windows 8.1;
- CPU: i5-4670K;
- video card: GeForce GTX 780 Ti;
- motherboard: LGA1150, Intel Z87.
Each column is connected to an extremely sensitive amplifier. It registers the electron flows that occur when the capacitor is discharged. In this case, the corresponding command is given. Thus, there is access to various cells located on the board. There is one important nuance which you should definitely know. When an electrical impulse is applied to any string, it opens all of its transistors. They are directly connected to it.
From this we can conclude that one line is the minimum amount of information that can be read when accessing. The main purpose of RAM is to store various kinds of temporary data that are needed while the personal computer is turned on and the operating system is functioning. The most important executable files are loaded into RAM, the CPU executes them directly, simply storing the results of the operations performed.
Also in the cells are stored:
If necessary, everything that is in RAM, the central processor can store on HDD. And to do it in the form in which it is necessary.
Manufacturers
In stores you can find great amount RAM from various manufacturers. A large number of such products began to be supplied precisely from Chinese companies.
To date, the most productive and high-quality products are the following brands:
It is a compromise between quality and performance.
Table of characteristics of RAM
Random access memory of the same type from different manufacturers has similar performance characteristics.
That is why it is correct to carry out the comparison, taking into account only the type:
DDR
DDR2
DDR3
frequency range
100-400
400-800
800-1600
Working voltage
2.5v+/-0.1v
1.8V +/- 0.1V
1.5V +/- 0.075V
Number of blocks
4
4
8
Termination
limited
limited
all DQ signals
Topology
TSOP
TSOP or Fly-by
fly-by
Control method
-
OCD
Automatic calibration with ZQ
The presence of a temperature sensor
Not
Not
Yes
Comparison of performance and price
The performance of RAM is directly related to its cost. You can find out how much a DDR3 module costs at the nearest computer store, you should also familiarize yourself with the price of DDR 1. By comparing their operating parameters and price, and then testing it, you can easily verify this.
It is most correct to compare RAM of the same type, but with different performance, depending on the frequency of operation:
A type
Operating frequency, MHz
Cost, rub.
Speedwork, Aida 64,Memory Read, MB/s
DDR3
1333
3190
19501
DDR3
1600
3590
22436
DDR3
1866
4134
26384
DDR3
2133
4570
30242
DDR3
2400
6548
33813
DDR3
2666
8234
31012
DDR3
2933
9550
28930
In Aida 64, testing of all DDR 3 was done on identical hardware:
RAM is a very important component of a PC, greatly affecting its performance. That is why, to increase it, it is recommended to set bars with a high frequency and small timings. This will give a big increase in computer performance, it is especially important for games and various professional programs.
RAM, along with storage memory (hard disk), are storage devices, and are necessary for storing data. What is needed for RAM? If the hard drive is used to permanently store files: music, movies, images, then RAM is needed to temporarily store data that is used when the computer is running the processor. After the computer is turned off, all contents of RAM are deleted. RAM is a random access memory, this is also the name of this type of memory.
Types of RAM
The main characteristics that RAM should have are the speed and speed of access to the data contained in it. There are two types of memory: SRAM and DRAM.
DRAM is a dynamic form of random access memory. The main advantage is availability and economy. Mostly installed on most personal computers and laptops.
SRAM is a static form of RAM. Due to the special implementation of the module, it has an increased speed in operation, allowing you to operate with a large amount of data. The disadvantages include the high cost of production.
Work organization
How is work organized, and what is RAM used for? RAM is a separate module that is integrated into the motherboard by placing it in a special slot. It has a set of registers that contain data and commands addressed to the central processor. The exchange takes place through registers of the zero level or through the cache.
What does RAM do? In fact, it contains the data and commands being processed at the current time, and also stores the variables of the current OS session. The operating system uses memory in its work, which allows it to realize all its functionality. When the computer enters sleep mode, it stores the current session.
RAM module size
The speed of the computer directly depends on the amount of RAM. The larger the RAM module, the faster the programs function: games do not slow down, video is processed faster, it becomes possible to use more programs at the same time. Existing sizes of RAM modules:
- 128MB
- 256MB
- 512MB
At the moment of development of computer hardware and software, the optimal installed size of RAM will be from 1 to 2 gigabytes of RAM.
So we figured out why you need RAM. It remains only to give a list of the most popular designations in computer jargon, to be aware. RAM is also often referred to by computer scientists with words such as: RAM, memory, brains.
When purchasing a brand new computer, you always pay attention to its characteristics, because these are its face and main advantages. Among many parameters, there will definitely be an abbreviation of three letters - RAM. What is it and what is it for? What is the optimal amount needed for normal PC operation? Read about all this below.
Definition and functions
RAM is a random access memory device designed to store data when the computer is turned on. That is, all running processes and tasks on a PC are stored in real time in this very place, from where they are subsequently processed by the processor. You can also find the second name of such a device - RAM, which stands for English or "memory with an arbitrary terminal." RAM performs a number of important tasks, without which the functioning of the entire system is simply impossible:
Features of functioning
RAM is only capable when the PC is on. For this purpose, it is necessary to save all the data with which the work was carried out on the hard disk. RAM - what is it? In other words, the device with which the activities of all processes and programs are carried out. A lot of dynamic information flows through the working memory. Random Access Memory (RAM) - what is it and what does it mean? This technology allows you to read and write data in any memory cells at any time.
How is everything arranged?
How does RAM work? What it is, you already know. How exactly does it function? Absolutely any RAM contains cells, and each of them has its own personal address. Despite this, they all contain an equal number of bits, the number of which is 8 (8 bits = 1 byte). This is the smallest unit of measure for any information. All addresses have the form (0 and 1), in fact, just like data. Cells located next to each other inherit consecutive addresses. Many commands are carried out using "words", areas of memory consisting of 4 or 8 bytes.
Species diversity
The general classification divides this device into 2 SRAM (static) and DRAM (dynamic). The first is used as the CPU cache, the second is assigned the role of PC RAM. Any SRAM contains flip-flops that can be in two states: "on" and "off". They include a complex process of building a technological chain, which is why they take up a lot of space. The price of this device will be much higher than DRAM, which has no triggers, but has 1 transistor and 1 capacitor, which makes the RAM more compact (for example, DDR2 RAM). Its optimal amount at the moment is about 4 GB, but if the computer platform is intended for games, then it is recommended to increase this number by 2 times. Today we figured out the RAM - what it is and how it works. The reader now introduces the basic principle of operation of this device.
RAM (RAM, RAM - Random Access Memory- eng.) - relatively fast the volatile random-access memory of a computer in which most of the communication between devices takes place. It is volatile, that is, when the power is turned off, all data on it is erased.
RAM is a repository of all information flows that need to be processed by the processor or they wait in RAM for their turn. All devices communicate with RAM through the system tire, and with it, in turn, are exchanged through the cache or directly.
Random Access Memory- memory with random (direct) access.
This means that, if necessary, the memory can directly refer to one required block, without affecting while the rest. Speed random access does not change from the location of the necessary information, which is a huge plus.
RAM, compares favorably from volatile memory, with almost zero impact of the number of read/write operations on service life and durability. Subject to all the subtleties in production, RAM very rarely fails. In most cases, damaged memory begins to make mistakes that lead to system crash or instability of many computer devices.
RAM can be either a separate module that can be changed and additional ones added (for example, a computer), as well as a separate unit of a device or chip (as in or the simplest SoC).
RAM usage .
Modern operating systems actively use RAM to store and process important and frequently used data in it. If RAM were not used in electronic devices, then all operations would be much slower and for reading from a permanent memory source ( ROM), would require a significant more time. Yes and more or less multithreaded processing would be nearly impossible.
RAM usage, allows applications to run and run faster. Data can be processed and wait in line without hindrance thanks to addressability(all machine words have their own addresses).
Operating system Windows 7 for example, it can store frequently used files, programs, and other data in memory. This allows you to start programs not to wait until they are loaded from a slower disk, but immediately begin execution. Therefore, do not be afraid if the task manager shows that your RAM loaded with more than 50% . When you run an application that requires large memory resources, older data will be forced out of it in favor of more necessary ones.
Most devices use dynamic random access memory DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory ), which has a low price but is slower static SRAM (Static Ramdom Access Memory ). More expensive static memory has found its way into fast processors and controllers. Due to the fact that static memory takes up much more space on a chip than dynamic memory, in times of rapid development of computer peripherals and operating systems, manufacturers went for a larger volume rather than a higher speed path, which was more justified.
The most popular and productive memory in personal computers, since the 2000s has rightfully become DDR SDRAM.
Remarkably, there is no backward compatibility support for any of the versions. The reason lies in the different frequencies and principles of operation of memory controllers for different versions.
Therefore, it is impossible to insert, for example, memory DDR3 into the memory slot DDR2, thanks to a notch elsewhere.
Subsequent versions DDR2 SDRAM and DDR3 SDRAM, received a significant jump in the growth of the effective frequency. But the real increase in speed was only when switching from DDR1 on the DDR2 by keeping the delay time at an acceptable level, with a significant increase in the frequency of work. DDR3 the memory cannot boast of the same and with a doubling of the frequency, the delays also almost double. Accordingly, there is no gain in speed in real conditions. But there is a significant plus from the transition to new versions, which always works - this is a decrease energy consumption and heat dissipation, which favorably affects the stability and the possibility of overclocking. Modern versions DDR3 rarely get hotter 50 degrees Celsius.
This phrase is quite popular - RAM. Many have heard about it and sometimes saw errors in the system associated with it, as well as on many sites they write about it if you want to download a program or game. In this article you will learn almost everything you need and everything connected with it. I hope after reading there will be no more questions and you will become more literate.
Let me start from afar...
What is working memory?
RAM is a bar in or etc.
It turns out that if you disassemble the system unit (I will focus on the PC in the article, because it is easier there), then you can visually see this bar (and sometimes there are several) and rightly so. It looks something like this:
in a laptop like this:
Thus, RAM is one of the "parts" of a computer. Moreover, one of the main ones, without which the computer does not even boot.
By the way, RAM is also often called RAM, memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), RAM, etc.
What is RAM for?
To understand this, you need to pay attention to the first word.
The fact is that when the "brain" of a computer (central processor) accesses data on (and it accesses them almost constantly, because everything is stored there), then it does this through an intermediary - our RAM.
The RAM acts as a kind of intermediary or buffer. When the processor needs something, it sends a command to the RAM, and it already copies the information from the hard disk. Then the processor works only with the RAM, and when it finishes, the data is copied back to the hard drive.
Perhaps you will have a question "So why is everything so complicated then? Why use the RAM if you can do it directly or do it yourself?". The thing is that the hard drive only stores information, and if the processor loaded it with the fact that it would be necessary to work with it, it would become terribly slow. And do we need it? No.
By the way, there is such a thing as virtual memory and paging file. You can read more in the article.
In short, I’ll just write that when there is little space left in the RAM (it constantly stores something in itself and new processes are still running), then it still accesses the hard drive (well, where to go then ...) and takes it from there place. True, this can slow down the computer.
Thus, some data is always stored in RAM. These can be the results of your actions in, and, and in, and in general, everything is always "done" through RAM, as through an intermediary.
Here you should also know that the information is copied from the hard disk to the RAM, then it is changed in it, and then again sent to the hard disk. The simplest and most common example of this is how you work with text documents.
You first open it, then modify it, and then save and close (or close and save). Do you understand what I'm getting at? Yes Yes. You have worked with the document in RAM, and then you need to rewrite it, because. only an unmodified copy is on disk.
By the way, that is why, in the event of a crash and an emergency shutdown of the computer, you risk losing in most cases exactly unsaved data. Just the ones that are currently in the RAM.
Types of RAM
As I wrote above, RAM is a special module that is built into a special connector in motherboard. How it looks - you can see in the first picture above.
Of course, progress does not stand still. Today you can also find a hard drive that contains its own high-speed buffer to increase the speed of reading / writing information. There are also such video cards with the same principle. Also, the "slats" of RAM themselves can be equipped with special heatsinks to ensure the best heat transfer, which consequently affects performance.
But back to the types ... Now there are only two types - this statistical and dynamic.
Statistical type of RAM (SRAM(Static random access memory)) is created on the basis of semiconductor triggers and has a very high speed. It has two disadvantages: high cost and takes up a lot of space. Therefore, in desktop computers, and in general in Everyday life, does not occur.
Dynamic type of RAM (DRAM(Dynamic random access memory)) is based on capacitors, therefore it has high density records and relatively low cost. The disadvantages stem from the features of its design, namely, the use of small capacitors leads to a rapid self-discharge of the latter, so their charge has to be periodically replenished. This process is called memory regeneration, hence the name dynamic memory. Regeneration noticeably slows down the speed of its work, therefore, various intelligent schemes are used to reduce time delays.
Dynamic memory is also divided by generations. I will not go into history much, I will only write that the third generation is now widespread DDR3 SDRAM, which has replaced DDR2(they are still found on old computers so far) and they are being replaced by DDR4(That's just not soon yet I think).
RAM
This is the basic unit of measure for RAM and is often used. It is measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB).
The most frequently asked question is How much RAM to use? It all depends on two things:
1)
from what you will be doing. For example, for access to the Internet and the simplest work on a computer, 1GB may well be enough. But it's better to take it with a margin and put at least 2 GB.
If you want to play games and do graphics, then put from 4 GB and above.
4 GB is enough for me for everything. So my advice is 4GB of RAM and everything will be fine.
2)
from your bit depth operating system. We read the article.
In short, I’ll just write that if 32x, then no more than 4x. If 64x, then as many as you like.
Much also depends on yours, in particular on the number and type of connectors for the RAM. Of course, it is necessary that there are enough connectors and that they fit the type.
How to check computer RAM
To see what kind of RAM you have, you can use two ways.
1)
Turn off the computer, open the system unit and remove the RAM bar. Next, we look at it with a sticker (sticker) on it and everything will be written there - both type and frequency and other information.
If it is not there, then at least determine the type from the figure:
2) Through a well-known utility CPU-Z, which can be downloaded from . On the tab Memory you can find out to check basic information, such as type (Type), size (Size), mode of operation and timings used:
On the SPD tab, you can see all the characteristics of a specific memory module installed in the selected slot:
I also want to write about the SPD tab that it contains information from the chip of the same name in the RAM. The manufacturer writes all the information about it into it (volume, marking, manufacturer, serial number, recommended delays, etc.) and when the system boots, the computer reads all this information and sets the memory mode in connection with the settings contained in the chip.
How to clear RAM
As I wrote above, the RAM is loaded more and more during the operation of the computer. If its volume is small, then it may be that the computer starts to slow down. Therefore, you should clear the RAM and then the computer will stop slowing down.
For cleaning, you can use the following methods:
1) Close unnecessary programs.
2) Wait a little. In Windows, there is a utility utility for cleaning the RAM. True, it doesn't always work.
3) Take advantage of special programs. I will not paint them, I will write only links to official sites:
4) Reboot
How to increase RAM
Here I think everything is very simple. There is no way to increase it programmatically, only physically.
You just need to purchase the right bar. And what is needed? Read about it where it was written about the volume.
I just want to add here that if, for example, you already have one 2 GB bar, and you want 4, then it’s better to take another one for 2 and so that they work in parallel. Then they will have multithread and be faster if you pull one out by 2 and put 4 instead.
Better to use in pairs.
That's all I think. If you didn’t write something about RAM or what’s not clear, write in the comments.