COMPUTER MEMORY

COMPUTER MEMORY

• “ Computer memory is the storage space in the

computer, where data is to be processed and
instructions required for processing are stored. “
• Memory is primarily of three types −
1. Cache Memory
2. Primary Memory/Main Memory
3. Secondary Memory
 1.CACHE MEMORY

• Cache memory is a very high speed

semiconductor memory which can
speed up the CPU.
• It acts as a buffer between the CPU
and the main memory.
• It is used to hold those parts of data
and program which are most frequently
used by the CPU.
 PRIMARY MEMORY
• Primary Memory (Main Memory)
• Primary memory holds only those data and
instructions on which the computer is currently
working. It has a limited capacity and data is lost
when power is switched off. It is generally made
up of semiconductor device. These memories
are not as fast as registers. The data and
instruction required to be processed resides in
the main memory. It is divided into two
subcategories RAM and ROM.
Characteristics of Main Memory
• These are semiconductor memories.
• It is known as the main memory.
• Usually volatile memory.
• Data is lost in case power is switched off.
• It is the working memory of the computer.
• Faster than secondary memories.
• A computer cannot run without the primary memory.
 SECONDARY MEMORY
• This type of memory is also known as
external memory or non-volatile. It is
slower than the main memory. These are
used for storing data/information
permanently. CPU directly does not
access these memories, instead they are
accessed via input-output routines. The
contents of secondary memories are first
transferred to the main memory, and
then the CPU can access it. For example,
disk, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.
Characteristics of Secondary Memory
• These are magnetic and optical memories.
• It is known as the backup memory.
• It is a non-volatile memory.
• Data is permanently stored even if power is switched off.
• It is used for storage of data in a computer.
• Computer may run without the secondary memory.
• Slower than primary memories.
TYPES OF PRIMARY MEMORY
 Random Access Memory (RAM):
• The primary storage is referred to as random access
memory (RAM) due to the random selection of memory
locations. It performs both read and write operations on
memory. If power failures happened in systems during
memory access then you will lose your data permanently.
So, RAM is volatile memory. RAM categorized into following
types.
• DRAM
• SRAM
• MRAM
TYPES OF RAM :
1. DRAM
DRAM stands for Dynamic random access
memory . It is used in most pf the computers.
• Least expensive kind of RAM
• Requires an electric current to maintain its
electric state
• DRAM is recharged or refreshed again and
again to maintain its data.
2. SRAM
SRAM stands for static random access memory.
It can store data without any need of frequent
charging
• It is faster than DRAM
• It utilizes less power than DRAM
• It is normally used to build a very fast memory
known as cache memory,
3. MRAM
MRAM stands for magnetoresistive Random
access memory.
It stores data using magnetic charges instead of
electrical charges.
• It has greater storage capacity
• It has faster access time than RAM.
• It remains its contents when the power is
removed from computer.
 READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM)
ROM is permanent memory location that offer
huge types of standards to save data. But it work
with read only operation. No data lose happen
whenever power failure occur during the ROM
memory work in computers.
TYPES :
• PROM
• EPROM
• EEPROM
• 1. PROM:
Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM)
maintains large storage media but can’t offer
the erase features in ROM.
• This type of RO maintains PROM chips to
write data once and read many.
• The programs or instructions designed in
PROM can’t be erased by other programs.
 2. EPROM :
• Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
designed for recover the problems of PROM
and ROM.
• Users can delete the data of EPROM
thorough pass on ultraviolet light
• It can be reprogrammed.
• 3. EEPROM:
• Electrically Erasable Programmable Read
Only Memory similar to the EPROM but it
uses electrical beam for erase the data of
ROM.
• Similar to flash memory.
• Data on EEPROM can be written multiple
times.
TYPES OF SECONDARY MEMORY
Hard Disk Drive
• Hard disk drive is made up of a series of circular
disks called platters arranged one over the other
almost ½ inches apart around a spindle. Disks are
made of non-magnetic material like aluminum
alloy and coated with 10-20 nm of magnetic
material.
• Data is stored by magnetizing or demagnetizing
the magnetic coating.
• A magnetic reader arm is used to read data from
and write data to the disks.
• A typical modern HDD has capacity in terabytes
(TB).
CD Drive
• CD stands for Compact Disk. CDs are circular disks that use
optical rays, usually lasers, to read and write data.
• They are very cheap as you can get 700 MB of storage
space for less than a dollar.
• . They are portable as you can eject the drive, remove the
CD and carry it with you.

There are three types of CDs −

• CD-ROM (Compact Disk – Read Only Memory)

• CD-R (Compact Disk – Recordable)
• CD-RW (Compact Disk – Rewritable)
DVD Drive
DVD stands for Digital Video Display.
• DVD are optical devices that can store
15 times the data held by CDs.
• They are usually used to store rich
multimedia files that need high
storage capacity.
• DVDs also come in three varieties –
read only, recordable and rewritable.
Pen Drive
• Pen drive is a portable memory
device that uses solid state memory
rather than magnetic fields or lasers
to record data.
• It uses a technology similar to RAM,
except that it is nonvolatile.
• It is also called USB drive, key drive
or flash memory.
Blu Ray Disk
• Blu Ray Disk (BD) is an optical storage media
used to store high definition (HD) video and
other multimedia filed.
• BD uses shorter wavelength laser as
compared to CD/DVD.
• BDs can store up to 128 GB data.