What Is RAM
RAM standards for Random Access Memory. Yes, RAM is also known as memory. So if you are asked how much memory you have on your PC they are referring to the RAM. But wait, computer memory is not like human memory. This does not mean how much information the PC can store. This is a very common misconception that memory is a physical amount of space available for the PC. In actual fact, memory or RAM actually is one of the main factors that determine the speed of a computer. The more memory or RAM a PC has, the faster it will operate.
What Is RAM Measured In?
RAM is measured in Megabytes (MBs). A typical entry level computer will either have 512 Megabyte of RAM inside it. This amount of memory will allow a person to do any form of general computing such as internet browsing, word processing, watching a movie, listening to music, to even more demanding tasks like playing the latest high intensive graphics games. RAM starts from 256MB and can go up to 4 GB if you are planning on using windows XP 64Bit version. The standard Windows XP Home and Professional support up to a maximum of 3 GB of RAM. Anything past this, and the system will not recognise the RAM. So enough of RAM, below is a picture of what in the world a RAM or computer memory looks like.
Yes, that’s it. It really is that simple of a component. It is advised not to touch the golden contacts at the bottom in case of small static electricity transfer which ‘could’ render the computer RAM faulty. But having said that, RAM is the easiest component to take out and also fit inside a computer.
How Does RAM Work?
An example of how RAM works and how it makes a PC fast is like the following. Imagine RAM as a blank piece of paper to allow the computer to make calculations. So each megabyte was one piece of paper, therefore the more paper it has to do calculations, the faster the computer works. Its that simple!
Is RAM Cheap?
RAM is a fairly inexpensive component as online deals allow you to buy a 512MB RAM stick for around $25 or £15. But do be careful, RAM is a very important component for the computer. Be very careful when you go out and buy RAM to either upgrade an existing PC or for a brand new PC you may be building.
If you get really cheap RAM or even medium standard RAM it might just not be worth the hassle. Lets look at it this way by going back to our blank pieces of paper concept. Now imagine you have 512 MBs of RAM hence 512 sheets of paper. From the 512 sheets of paper the computer is using to do all of its calculations, what if 25 sheets had holes all over the paper? What would happen when the computer used those sheets to do its calculations and it wrote over the holes? The numbers would drop through the holes and everything would not add up, right? The calculations would go haywire. In the same way, cheap RAM more commonly generic and unbranded RAM works in the same way. After a specific period, generic RAM will start to accumulate memory address failures. (like memory holes) This results in regular system crashes, freezing, and all sorts of error messages. What you’ll find in the end is, that generic RAM is more costly in the long run. We would advise only to purchase KINGSTONE or CORSAIR branded RAM. Both of these have life time warranty and most specifically CORSAIR is guaranteed to give you the fewest problems if any.
| Hardware |
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| Central Processing Unit |
| What Is A Hard Drive |
| What Is a Motherboard |
| What Is An Optical Drive |
| What Is RAM |