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RAM
Random Access Memory

RAM is one of the three main Core Components in a computer. The other two main Core Components are the Motherboard and CPU.

• RAM is the workspace for the CPUs calculations.

• The more RAM, the more work the CPU can get done, faster.

• RAM is measured in size (256MB) and speed (50ns=nanoseconds).

Size

• The size of RAM is measured in bytes, usually in megabytes.

• A megabyte is not a million, but close.

• Difficult to determine size by looking. There is usually a small white label that tells the size of a stick of RAM.

Speed

• It is important to identify the speed on the label.

• The speed of RAM is measured in nanoseconds.

• It is difficult to determine speed of RAM without a label.

Can you recognize RAM on the motherboard?

.

• Types of RAM:
  • SIMMs, 72-pins (very old, almost obsolete)
  • DIMMs, 168- pins
  • SO-DIMMs for laptops, 144-pins
• The common RAM specs:
  • From 32MB of RAM to 512MB of RAM, or more
  • PC100 SDRAM and PC133 SDRAM (PC66 is old and hard to find).
  • The PC100 and PC133 refers to the bus speed of your motherboard.

Understanding PC Hardware, Second Edition, ©2003 Cary Muhammad, (All Rights Reserved), vipcomputers4u@yahoo.com