RAM: decryption. What is RAM?

Few users know what it is - RAM. Although almost everyone guess that it's about any component in the computer. Meanwhile, there is an exact transcript.

RAM (or RAM) is a random access memorydevice, which is often called "operative". This "RAM" is in any computer, laptop and even a phone - without it, the work of any gadget is impossible. True, for different devices it is required in different volumes, but we'll talk about this later.

The difference between RAM and a constant

Now that the decryption of RAM is known,note an important point. Many beginners confuse RAM with the permanent one, which is available on the hard disk, but you can not do this. There is nothing in common between them. These types of memory have a completely different purpose, they also work differently, even decoding is different. RAM is a dynamic memory that requires a certain amount of energy, and when the power goes out, all the data inside is lost. The connection to electricity is also required for writing and reading data on hard drives and flash drives. However, to store information on devices of remote type, no electricity is needed.

How does RAM work?

Deciphering to some extent allows us to understandprinciple of operation of this element of the system. Random access memory should instantly store the data set and give access to them if necessary.

RAM is a complex set of chips and modules. If we give an analogy, then in structure it resembles a honeycomb of bees. That is, the computer's memory consists of cells that are intended for data storage (one or four bits). Each of them is endowed with a specific address, consisting of two components - the address of the vertical column and the horizontal line (Column and Row, respectively).

The work of memory is closely related to functionalityCPU and all devices that are connected to the computer as peripherals. The latter "trust" their RAM information, therefore, the data first gets into the RAM (from the hard disk or external media), and only then they are processed by the central processor.

Between the memory and the processor, the exchange is performeddirectly. Although sometimes there is cache intervention, which is a temporary storage of frequently requested information. Due to its availability, the time of delivery of information to the registers of the processor is significantly reduced.

Control

The RAM is controlled by a special controller, which is installed in the motherboard's chipset chipset. In particular, North Bridge provides connection of the processor to a high-performance RAM bus.

So, the principle of the whole system with the participation of RAMlooks like this: when you turn on the computer from the hard disk in RAM, drivers and other programs of the operating system are recorded. There also come the user-initiated programs. Then the recorded data is transferred to the processor, processed and sent back. All the work of the computer is built in this way.

The system functions as long asnormal operation is sufficient for the number of memory cells. If they do not remain, the role of RAM takes over the memory of the hard disk (swap file). Given the lower speed of the drive, its use significantly reduces the speed of system work, but this is no longer relevant to this topic.

Finally

So, we examined what it is - RAM, howit works and in general what is the role of the specified component in the system. Finally, it should be noted that this module is constantly being improved, its operation scheme can change with the appearance of new types of RAM, but the principle is always the same. Perhaps, everything looks logical and understandable. This information is even told in educational institutions in computer science. The decoding of RAM in the context of the study of computer technology will now not cause any questions.