COMPUTER MEMORY

The most essential part of computer processing is the memory. From the moment the
computer is turned ON until the time it is shut down, the CPU constantly use memory.
CPU requires memory to handle the intermediate results and to store final output. This
lesson introduces two broad categories of memories- primary memory and secondary
memory, and discusses various types of primary memories and various types of
secondary memories with their storage organisation.

Memory refers to the electronic storage place for data and instruction where CPU can
access quickly. Thus, CPU requires memory to handle the intermediate results and to
store final output. Computer memory is extremely important to computer operation. Files
and programs are loaded into memory from external media like hard disk. RAM is the
hardware location in a computer where the operating system, application programs, and
data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly reached by the computer's
processor. RAM is much faster to read from and write to than most other kinds of storage
in a computer (like hard disk and floppy disk)
The following terms are used to identify the comparative behavior of different types of
memory

devices

and

technologies:

Storage Capacity: Storage capacity refers to the size of the memory. The capacity of the
internal processor memory is expressed in terms of number of bytes and kilobytes.
Cost: The cost of a memory is valued by estimating the cost per bit of storage, that is, the
cost of a storage unit for a given storage capacity. Note that, even though a 40GB hard
disk may cost more than 128MB RAM chip, but on comparing the cost with storage
space (cost per bit of storage), one will notice that a RAM chip is costlier than a hard
disk.

Obviously,

lower

cost

memory

is

desirable.

Access Mode: The information from memory can be accessed in the following ways:
Random: Random access indicates that locations in the memory can be accessed, that is,
written or read, in any order regardless of the memory location that was accessed before.
RAM

and

hard

disk

are

the

examples

of

random

access

memories.

Sequential: In this mode, memory is accessed in predefined sequential order. Magnetic

tape

is

an

example

of

sequential

mode.

Direct: In some cases, data is accessed neither in random fashion nor in a sequential

fashion, but is a combination of both modes. A separate read/write head exists for a track,
and on a track, the information can be accessed sequentially. This type of semirandom
mode exists in the magnetic disk. Access Time: Access time is the time required between
the requests made for read/write operations and time it takes for the completion of the
request. Generally, it is measured for read operations only. The access time depends upon
the physical characteristics and the access mode used for that device. A faster access time
is preferable. Primary memory has a faster access time as compared to secondary
memory.
Physical Characteristic: The physical characteristic of a memory device can be
categorised into four parts, namely, electronic, magnetic, mechanical, and optical. One of
the important requirements of the storage device is that it should exhibit two physical
states, 0 or 1. The access time of the memory depends upon how quickly the state can be
recognized and changed. Obviously, the quicker the device recognises the state, the faster
it will be.
Permanence of Storage: Some memories retain information for longer duration while
others are used to store information for very short period. There are memories, which
require constant refreshing to preserve the information; these memories are called
dynamic memory. These memories are volatile in nature and loose contents on power
failure. Another memory, which retains data forever, is called static memory. This
memory comes under a non-volatile category. A non-volatile memory is desirable. Based
on techniques used for construction, capacity to store data, cost and access time, there are
different types of memories available for a computer are shown in Fig

Primary Memory Such memories have direct interaction with CPU, due to the named as
primary memory. Therefore, the access time for such memories is less as compared to
secondary memories.
The key features of internal memory are (1) limited storage capacity,(2) tem porary
storage, (3) fast access, and (4) high cost. Registers, cache memory, and primary
'memory constitute the internal memory. T he primary memory is further of two kinds
RAM and RO M . Registers are the fastest and the most expensive am ong all the
memory types. The registers are located inside the CPU , and are directly accessible by
the CPU . The speed of registers is between 12 ns (nanosecond). The sum of the size
of registers is about 200B. Cachc memory is next in the hierarchy and is placed between
the CPU and the main memory. The speed of cache is between 2 -1 0 ns. The cache
size varies between 32 KB to 4MB. Any program or data that has to be executed must
be brought into RAM from the secondary memory. Primary memory is relatively slower
than the cache memory. The speed o f RAM is around 60ns. The RAM size varies from
512KB to 3GB.

RAM or Random Access Memory is the central storage unit in a computer system. It
is the place in a computer where the operating system, application programs and the

data in current use are kept temporarily so that they can be accessed by the
computers processor. The more RAM a computer has, the more data a computer can
manipulate.
Random access memory, also called the Read/Write memory, is the temporary
memory of a computer. It is said to be volatile since its contents are accessible only
as long as the computer is on. The contents of RAM are cleared once the computer is
turned off.