Part 4: How Computer Memory Works

Cache Depot

100

THESE ARE THE THREE MAIN TYPES OF STORAGE DEVICES

MAGNETIC, OPTICAL, AND SOLID-STATE

200

CPU CACHE IS THIS TYPE OF RAM

STATIC RAM

300

THE NAME FOR THE TIME TAKEN FOR THE CPU TO ACCESS A MEMORY LOCATION AND PROCESS THE DATA STORED THERE

LATENCY

400

EACH MEMORY CELL IN DYNAMIC RAM CONSISTS OF THESE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS

CAPACITORS AND TRANSISTORS

500

THIS TYPE OF MEMORY IS THE FASTEST

REGISTERS OR CPU CACHE

Where Do You Live

100

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN A HOUSE ARE LIKE THIS IN MEMORY

DATA VALUES

200

HOUSE NUMBERS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD ARE LIKE THESE IN MEMORY

ADDRESSES

300

TO LEARN MEMORY ADDRESSING, THINK OF A MEMORY CHIP AS BEING LIKE THIS

NEIGHBORHOOD

400

MEMORY CHIPS ARE BROKEN INTO THESE, WHICH ARE LIKE HOUSES IN A NEIGHBORHOOD

CELLS

500

MEMORY CELLS THAT EXIST INSIDE THE CPU ITSELF

REGISTERS

Cost Benefit

100

THIS TYPE OF MEMORY IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM

CPU CACHE

200

THESE TYPES OF LONG-TERM STORAGE DRIVES ARE THE NEWEST AND FASTEST

SOLID STATE DRIVES

300

AS THE NUMBER OF BITS NEEDING TO BE PROCESSED GROWS EXPONENTIALLY, COMPUTERS DESIGNERS FACE A CONSTANT STRUGGLE BETWEEN THESE THREE THINGS

COST, SIZE, AND SPEED

400

AMONG THE THREE TYPES OF LONG-TERM STORAGE DEVICES, THIS IS THE CHEAPEST

MAGNETIC

500

THIS CAUSES COMPUTER MEMORY TO DEGRADE OVER TIME

HEAT

RAM'S Horns

100

THESE PINS ON A MEMORY CHIP ALLOW THE CPU TO TELL IT WHAT TO DO WITH DATA

READ AND WRITE PINS

200

RAM CHIPS HAVING THIS MANY ADDRESS PINS CAN ONLY HOLD 4 BILLION BYTES, OR 4 GIGABYTES OF DATA

32

300

THESE PINS ARE ELECTRIFIED BY THE CPU IN A SPECIFIC PATTERN TO TELL THE RAM CHIP WHERE THE DATA IS

ADDRESS PINS

400

IN A MODERN COMPUTER, RAM CHIPS HAVE A MAXIMUM CAPACITY OF 18 BILLION BILLION BYTES DUE TO HAVING THIS MANY ADDRESS PINS

64

500

TRUE OR FALSE: BOTH THE READ AND WRITE PINS ON A RAM CHIP CAN BE ELECTRIFIED AT THE SAME TIME

FALSE

ROM Comm

100

READ-ONLY MEMORY IS CALLED THIS

ROM

200

BAKED-IN SOFTWARE THAT PROVIDES ACCESS TO CRUCIAL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS

FIRMWARE AND BIOS

300

THIS TYPE OF MEMORY LOSES THE DATA STORED ON IT WHEN THE POWER IS TURNED OFF

VOLATILE

400

SOMETIMES, ROM'S CONTENTS CAN BE VERY INFREQUENTLY CHANGED BY THIS PROCESS

FLASHING

500

ROM IS THIS TYPE OF STORAGE, WHICH MEANS THE DATA STAYS ON IT EVEN WHEN THE POWER IS DISCONNECTED

NON-VOLATILE