Memory vs. Hardrive?

Question

Im on the dell site and I just choose 2gb worth of memory but now its asking the amount of hardrive that I want. and it also says "gb" so whats the difference. I know the hardrive is where programs are store so whats the memory?

Answer 1

The memory is what the processor uses to actual run program. The more memory, the more programs you can run at the same time and the faster they can run.

The hard drive is where a store all your file. Your pictures, music, videos, etc. The larger the hard drive, the more files you can store.

2gb of memory is a lot. The average today is about 512mb (which is 1/2 gig) or 1gb for a gaming PC. If price is an issue, you may want to lower the memory to only 1gb and spend the difference on getting largest hard drive you can. Most people will run out of hard drive space before they will run out of memory.

Hope that helps...

Answer 2

The hard drive is where data and programs are permanently stored- so when you turn off the machine, they are still there. The more hard drive space, the more room you have for storing stuff, like a larger room. Random Access Memory (RAM) is cleared whenever the machine is rebooted or turned off. When people just say memory, they are referring to RAM.

Memory affects how many programs at once you can run, how fast the system responds overall because once data is stored in memory it's accessed almost instantly (just reading different areas of the chip), whereas the hard drive is orders of magnitude slower- it's a mechanical device with spinning platters and a magnetic read head- but the drive is spinning around and often the data you're looking for is stored on the area that just passed, so you wait for the platter to rotate back around.

For an analogy, think of yourself as working in a library. Memory is your own capacity for remembering things- how many phone numbers, book titles, names etc you can remember at one time, off the top of your head? If you were a computer, adding more memory would let you keep track or more things- maybe 200 names instead of 25.

Hard drive space is how many books are in the building that you have access to. There's a lot more information printed & written down (permanent storage, so when you go to sleep it's still there) than in your memory. But getting stuff from permanent storage takes longer. You have to spend time finding the correct book, flipping the pages, finding the paragraph etc to retrieve the information you want- just like a hard drive does.

Obviously the analogy isn't perfect because unlike computers, we don't forget EVERYTHING when we go to sleep. You might not remember which book titles were #238 and #239 of 2,000 that you looked up, but you'd remember some. Computers forget everything in memory when you turn them off.

Answer 3

There is an hierarchy in data storage for a computer. The most immediate storage for a computer is the CPU cache. This is the memory included inside of your CPU that is fastest to access for the CPU. (This is what they mean by L(evel)1, L2 or L3 cache) Most cache is built into the CPU and you cannot increase the cache by attempting "adding" more.

After CPU cache is your system memory. This is the memory that's typically around 1 GB or more and is described by its speed. (1 GB of DDR2 667 Mhz, 2 GB of PC3200, etc. etc.) This memory is slower than CPU cache but you usually have the option to increase the memory by buying more memory modules upto a certain limit. (Usually 4 GB). When you run a program, the program is copied to the memory and only then can the CPU access the information.

Next comes the hard drive. Hard drive is a non-volatile form of memory. This means that the information does not get erased when you shut off the computer like the previous two storage means. Hard drives also differ from cache and memory in that it is stored magnetically and not electrically.

Answer 4

In simple terms: Memory is the primary location of temporary residence for your data. When you type simple text on the computer wordprocessing package for example, it resides on the Memory until you SAVE it in the Hard Drive or Hard Disk which is a secondary storage device. The Memory is a volatile storage device that looses its contents as soon as power supply to the computer electronic components is cut off. So, the Hard Drive allows you to store and retrive your data for usage at a later time after you power the computer on and off as many times as you like.

Memory size and Harddrive size are measured in bytes and a bit is approximately equal to a character. 1,024 bytes is a kilobyte. GB simply means GIGABYTE - that is a thousand million (billion) bytes. Since more data is expected to be stored on a Hard Drive, the storage size is usually high. For your new PC you may need to select something like 80GB, 100GB or more and that would allow enough storage of all documents, music and video files, etc.

BUT, for the Memory, if you select 1GB or 2GB you would have a very fast computer system, because the size of the memory contributes immensely to the rate at which the application software and your operating system performs its functions.

I hope the above is helpful in your PC selection.

Answer 5

RAM random access memory
the more RAM you have the more things you can do at once
like multitasking if you dont have enough of RAM and you try to do a few things at once the pc will be very slow
you could have the fastest processor there is but if you dont have the right amount of RAM your computer will be very slow
you should have at least 1gb RAM 2gb would be awesome though
and the hard drive capacity is the amount of space you have available for storing data,images,mp3's,movies or applications/programs
hope that helps

Answer 6

Memory is where the programs are running, hard-drive is only storage.
When you want to run lots of programs at the same time, you need more memory, when you want to install lots of programs or download movies and music you need bigger hard-drive.
Memory of 512 Mb - 1 Gb is often enough for normal use.
Hard-disk about 100 Gb should be enough also.

Answer 7

RAM memory is the menory that the CPU needs to process the Math in order to work and the hard drive just stores information, like software.
The more of the both you can afford the better special the RAM memory you will see how fast the computer will run

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Answer 8

When people say "memory" they can mean 2 different things. Usually, memory means your physical RAM. Your hard drive is what all your data is stored on and your RAM is a temporary storage location for things that are happening at that moment (programs that are open, windows, etc.).

Answer 9

its the swap space before it goes to harddrive it goes to ram and cpu and harddrive, no matter how big the hard drive is but the memory acts as a bridge between components to handle the weight,speed,

Answer 10

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