{"id":8057,"date":"2019-05-16T10:20:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T08:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/?p=8057"},"modified":"2019-05-16T10:20:12","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T08:20:12","slug":"what-exactly-is-ram-and-how-does-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/what-exactly-is-ram-and-how-does-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"What exactly is RAM and how does it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

RAM is short for \u201crandom access memory\u201d. <\/strong>This essential component is what allows computers, smartphones, and other devices to run efficiently<\/strong>. Without RAM, a phone would be unable to run applications and even simple tasks such as browsing the web on a computer would take an intolerably long time.<\/p>\n

What is RAM?<\/h3>\n

To those in the know, the name says it all. Random access memory is a particularly fast variety of computer memory<\/strong> that is able to temporarily store<\/strong> the information required to run programs and applications, load pages, and access data.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to differentiate between a computer\u2019s RAM and, say, its hard drive<\/a>. While both of these components store data, the hard drive offers long-term storage<\/strong> of information while the RAM only stores relevant data on a temporary basis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

These two components can be compared to long-term and short-term memory in the human brain. When information is stored in long-term memory, it takes a while to recall it but short-term memories can be pulled up remarkably fast<\/strong>. Similarly, accessing information on the hard drive takes a while, while accessing RAM provides almost instantaneous results<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

How it Works<\/h3>\n

\"\"The reason that data stored in a device\u2019s RAM can be accessed so quickly is that the RAM is hard-wired<\/strong> into the system<\/strong>. The lack of cabling or connection means that there is no significant latency. The fact that RAM is designed to provide fast access to data means that it can only store information for a limited period of time<\/strong>, though.<\/p>\n

RAM is designed to move seamlessly from one task to the next at a moment\u2019s notice. This offers the perfect solution to facilitating high-speed tasks<\/strong>, but it also means that any information stored in a device\u2019s RAM will be lost when the system is turned off<\/strong> or the user has moved on to a new task. That\u2019s why devices need both RAM and long-term storage systems like hard drives and SSDs.<\/p>\n

Types of RAM<\/h3>\n

Even fairly computer-literate consumers often don\u2019t realize that the term RAM can actually be used to describe several different kinds of memory. Most often, when RAM is mentioned in conversation the speaker is actually referencing what\u2019s known as dynamic random access memory<\/strong> (DRAM) or synchronous dynamic random access memory<\/strong> (SDRAM).<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s computers almost always utilize DDR4 RAM<\/strong>, although older computers that use DDR2 or DDR3 RAM are still available in some places. These different numbers are used to indicate which generation of RAM is being used by the computer, so higher numbers translate to greater bandwidth and faster speeds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Despite their similar nomenclature and purpose, these different generations or RAM are actually surprisingly dissimilar. With each new generation, physical changes have been made. While that\u2019s good news for consumers, it does mean that different generations of RAM are not interchangeable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Specialty RAM<\/h3>\n

When consumers begin to venture into the sphere of specialized gaming computers, they may begin to hear other terms that pertain to RAM thrown around. These include VRAM<\/strong>, or video RAM.\u00a0 VRAM is a type of specialized short-term memory that is available only to computers\u2019 graphics cards or graphics chips<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Technically, the VRAM used in graphics cards should be referred to as Graphics DDR SDRAM, but that\u2019s a bit of a mouthful. Most people default to either VRAM or GDDR. Different generations of GDDR are denoted by numbers, just like ordinary RAM, with most contemporary graphics cards using GDDR5<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Some of the newest graphics cards feature GDDR5X standard, though, and the Nvidia RTX Turing graphics card uses GDDR6. Niche graphics cards may also use High-Bandwidth-Memory (HBM) RAM, a highly-specialized and consequently quite expensive and difficult to procure type of memory. Unless they\u2019re professional gamers or designers<\/strong>, though, most users will find that the GDDR5 RAM is more than sufficient to meet their needs.<\/p>\n

Size Versus Speed<\/h3>\n

\"\"As with most things in life, size just isn\u2019t everything when it comes to buying RAM. The majority of operating systems and applications actually use a fairly minimal amount<\/strong> of RAM, with minimum requirements ranging from one gigabyte to eight gigabytes. That\u2019s why just buying more RAM doesn\u2019t necessarily speed up a computer.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s arguably more important than having massive amounts of RAM is speeding up the computer\u2019s memory<\/strong>. Most DDR4 memory will run anywhere between 2,133 MHz and 3,000 MHz. This is adequate for the majority of users, but those who find that they need some extra speed<\/a> may want to invest in faster DDR4 kits, which can run at speeds of more than 4,000MHz.<\/p>\n

Multi-Channel RAM Kits<\/h3>\n

The majority of today\u2019s memory is dual-memory<\/strong>. All that means is that two RAM sticks of the same type and speed<\/strong> can be accessed at the same time, speeding up the computer\u2019s short-term memory. High-end RAM kits are typically multi-channel, rather than dual-channel. They may support three or even four RAM modules.<\/p>\n

When installing new RAM modules, it\u2019s important to pay attention to the color of the slots on the computer\u2019s motherboard<\/strong>. New RAM must be installed in the right place. Each motherboard is different, but information about where to install RAM modules can be found in each machine\u2019s individual help manual.<\/p>\n

Understanding the Labels<\/h3>\n

By now, consumers should have an idea of how to evaluate their computers\u2019 current RAM and whether or not they need to upgrade. Choosing the right RAM can be difficult even for those who know exactly what they\u2019re looking for, though, as the labels typically consist of long strings of numbers and letters.<\/p>\n

The first number following the DDR designation will be the RAM\u2019s MHz speed<\/strong>. Often, this number is followed by a \u201cPC\u201d label. This will appear as \u201cPC\u201d followed by the MHz speed multiplied by eight.<\/p>\n

Timing is typically listed as several numbers that are separated by dashes. These numbers refer to the latency of the memory<\/strong>. Although hardcore gamers may need to purchase high-performance RAM that features increased timings, the majority of average consumers really don\u2019t need to worry too much about this feature.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/h3>\n

RAM functions as short-term memory. When a computer doesn\u2019t have enough RAM, it can slow things down<\/strong> significantly. Although many niche and high-quality RAM kits are available, the average consumer doesn\u2019t need more than a standard DDR4 dual-channel kit. However, top-tier gamers may find that it\u2019s worth investing in more advanced GDDR so that they can run games with complex graphics at optimal speeds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAM is short for \u201crandom access memory\u201d. This essential component is what allows computers, smartphones, and other devices to run efficiently. Without RAM, a phone would be unable to run applications and even simple tasks such as browsing the web on a computer would take an intolerably long time. What is RAM? To those in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":8082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"","tve_custom_css":"","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{},"tcb2_ready":0,"tcb_editor_enabled":0,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"","_tve_footer":""},"categories":[344,1],"tags":[67,4498,4497],"class_list":["post-8057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","category-misc","tag-computer","tag-memory","tag-ram"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biteno.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}