I'm a little confused... Is "RAM" mean the same as the Harddrive? And what's "ghz" -- is that the processor

Question

speed? I'm a newbie. If you can simply list it like:
1.8 GHZ means ?
512 ram means etc?
40 GB means?

Answer 1

firstly, i would like you to refer to page below,
http://www.footefamily.org/train/baspc.htm
navigate around & find out a lil about the whole thing
>> much simpler that way

wikipedia also offers good insight,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer

i. A central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer that interprets instructions and processes data contained in computer programs. CPUs provide the fundamental digital computer trait of programmability
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_processing_unit
1.8 ghz > refers to clock speed of cpu

ii. Primary storage, or internal memory, is computer memory that is accessible to the central processing unit of a computer without the use of computer's input/output channels. Primary storage is used to store data that is likely to be in active use. Primary storage is typically very fast, in the case of RAM which is also volatile, losing the stored information in an event of power loss, and quite expensive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_storage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_access_memory
512 mb > the amount of primary storage or internal memory

iii. A hard disk drive (HDD, also known as hard disk, hard drive, or the now-near-obsolete terms fixed disk, fixed drive, fixed disk drive, hard file) is a digitally encoded non-volatile storage device which stores data on the magnetic surfaces of hard disk platters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk
40 gb > amount of data storage space available

Answer 2

RAM (which is Random Access Memory) is the computers memory, not the hard drive. Memory is measured in mb (megabytes). The 512 RAM means the computer has 1/2 gig of memory. That is at or a little below average today.

1.8 ghz is the speed of the processor. Most PCs today are coming with about 2.5 ghz speed. So this is a slower than average PC. Probably about 3 years old.

40 GB is the size of the hard drive. That determines how many programs you can install and how many files you can save. A 40 Gig Hard Drive is below average, which is about 80-120 today. Again, looks like it is about 3 years old.

Value of the PC, with monitor, mouse and keyboard is probably $75 to $100. It will be good for Internet, e-mail and typing papers. Will be slow for todays top of the line games.

Answer 3

RAM means Random Access memory, its a chip of memory , very much faster than the hard drive, but more expensive, and smaller..
GHz: means Giga Hertz, 1 hertz is the measure meaning the amount of operations your processor can do each second. 1KHz (KiloHertz) is 1000 hertz, 1MHz (MegaHertz) is 1000 000 hertz, and 1 GHz is 1000 000 000 hertz, So if your computer is 1.8 Ghz , then your comp has 1800 000 000 hertz, thats a lot of operations per second.

512 MB Ram: i already explained to you what is the RAM, so your computer has 512 Megabytes of RAM, its an average of the memory and that is good enough for a newie.

40GB, which means 40 GigaBytes, as i told you, the hertz is the measure for "speed", the byte is a measure for storage, so 1 KB (kilobyte = 1000 bytes) then 1 MB (MegaByte= 1000 000 bytes), and 1 GB (GigaByte = 1000 000 000 bytes).
1 Compact Disc has 700 MB, and your harddrive has 40 GB, so you can store like 56 cd's on your computer.

I hope that helps

Answer 4

RAM refers to memory, which is where your computer puts programs and data that are currently in use. Your hard drive stores programs and data that are not in use. That is over simplified but gives you the general idea.

Gigahertz does indeed refer to the processor. That is its speed. Hertz is another word for "cycles per second." In this case it is the number of times a processor can cycle through its instruction set.

Giga is simply the metric system. I'm sure you know that 1 kilometer is 1,000 meters. Well a megameter is 1,000,000 meters and a gigameter is 1,000,000,000 meters. The same is true for megahertz (MHz) and gigahertz (GHz).

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

1.8 GHz means 1.8 Gigahertz, aproximately 1.8 billion cycles per second. It refers to the processor.

RAM is Randonm Acsess Memory and is measured in Megabytes, or 512MB is approximately 512 million bytes. A byte is 8 bits. A bit is a binary digit. RAM is not the same as hard drive.

The 40 GB measure refers to your hard drive....40 Gigabytes, or billion bytes.

Answer 6

Ram means random access memory, its the memory where the programs on your harddrive are moved to when they run. Ghz refers to the speed at which a piece of hardware works. Its not the processor, its the processors speed!

Answer 7

GHZ is the speed of how fast the computer will run - the higher the faster.

RAM is "Random Access Memory" not the same as the harddrive. But the more memory you have the faster your computer can perform tasks.

GB stands for Gigabite. The higher the number the more "space" you have to store things on your harddrive.

Answer 8

1.8 GHZ means the max processing speed of the computer
512 ram means the amount of memory shared to run applications
40 GB means the tolal capacity for stored memory

Answer 9

RAM is memory as in short term memory
not the same as hard drive which is 'permanent' storage

1.8 GHz is the speed of the processor/computer...it basically denotes how fast your computer can handle tasks
512 MB RAM is the amount of short term memory...randomly accessed not sequentially...this memory gets erased when powered off...this memory is used to perform task simultaneously...the more memory = the more tasks it can perform simultaneously
40 GB is the amount of long term memory...storage capacity...nonvolatile...permanent..will not be erased when powered off...this where your files get stored...higher the number, the more capacity/room you have for files

Answer 10

I have a old computer which is 500 mhz if you doulbled that it would be 1000ghz. 1.8 ghz is pretty good. 512 ram is good too the ps3 thats coming out has 512 ram.