Can anyone explain what RAM is?

Question

I'm looking for a new laptop and I have no idea what exactly is good as I don't understand the terms. Can anyone explain what RAM is cause all i know is that it stands for Random Access Memory and that means absolutely nothing to me!

Do you think 512MB will be sufficient enough considering I just want to use it for my university work?

Answer 1

Its just mmory that is available to a program at any time. generally the more RAM the laptop has, the faster and more efficiently your applications will run. 512mb is ok as thats what I run. although most Laptops have provisions for an extra RAM card so you could add more memory. these slots are usually found under a screwed down cover on the base of most Laptops but on some Sony VAIOs its inside the unit. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Think of RAM as very fast, very short memory.

Information stored in RAM is retrieved at an incredible speed, compared to say your hard drive (which is long term storage).

Short term memory because as soon as you reboot or turn off the computer everything that was stored in RAM is now gone.

In a laptop the RAM is a thin wafer of integrated circuits on a board about the size of a stick of gum. Usually a laptop will hold two of these sticks of RAM.

That being said, it is preferable to buy as much RAM as you can afford since it is the cheapest way to speed up your computer. Also, if you think you will be upgrading to more RAM in the future it is best to leave one memory slot open when you buy your computer. (Instead of buying 2 - 512MB sticks and using both memory slots, buy 1 - 1GB stick instead and use only one memory slot.) This way you won't have to throw away any memory to gain an open memory slot. If you don't ever plan on upgrading to more RAM it is almost always cheaper to buy two smaller size modules as compared to one larger one. Again, the bottom line is buy what you can afford.

Answer 3

Random access memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data store used in computers. It takes the form of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to be accessed in any order — that is, at random and without the physical movement of the storage medium or a physical reading head.

The word "random" refers to the fact that any piece of data can be returned quickly, and in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the previous piece of data. This contrasts with storage mechanisms such as tapes, magnetic disks and optical disks, which rely on the physical movement of the recording medium or a reading head. In these devices, the movement takes longer than the data transfer, and the retrieval time varies depending on the physical location of the next item.

RAM plays a vital role in the system performance. It is strongly recommended that a system should have enough random access memory to boost it's performance. Having a sufficient RAM helps programs, like games, run efficiently.

Refer to the following link for more on RAM.

Answer 4

The human analogy is best. RAM is like a person's short term memory, stuff like "I'm currently in my bedroom" or "I need to add 3 to 2". It's temporary working space. As opposed to a something like a hard drive or CD ROM (referred to as a PC's storage), which equates to your long term memory - stuff like "3 years ago I went on a holiday" or "My mother's name is Judy".

The whole idea of the separation of a computer's short term memory (RAM) and long term memory (storage space) is that RAM is typically many, many times faster, but costs a lot more per unit of storage. Whereas storage is need typically because it is cheaper, comes in larger sizes, and doesn't get erased when the PC is turned off. It's the electrical benefits and advantages of each technology which requires them both. There may come a time in the future when memory technology will be so advanced that there is one technology which has both the large capacity, low cost, and permanent storage capability of a hard drive, and the raw speed of RAM - but until then, both are needed.

In terms of its usefulness in today's personal computer, the more RAM a PC has, typically the more room it has to work with - meaning you can run more applications with less performance hit.

Answer 5

your correct RAM does mean random access memory. computers need ram to run the windows operating system is recommended to have at least 512mb because the windows itself uses around 128mb
RAM is accessed by programs to use as memory like our brain if we didn't have memory we couldn't be able to remember things.
the more RAM the better, if your just going to use the computer just for university thats plenty but if your going to turn into a hard out gamer you'd need about 1gb ram

Answer 6

RAM - Random Access Memory - How to Choose the Right Kind of RAM Memory for Your Computer

RAM is an acronym for Random Access Memory that is also known as volatile memory, because the data it holds is lost when the computer using it is switched off. Briefly, RAM memory is used by the system to store data in the form of files for processing by a computer's central processing unit (CPU), also known as the processor. ...The processor runs the program and data files according to instructions given to it by the operating system ...

The amount of RAM memory used in modern computers is expressed in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). A gigabyte (1GB) is 1024MB.

Answer 7

Think of it as temporary memory. It's what your computer uses to do things, rather than what it stores (like what humans use to type posts on Yahoo, compared with the memory they use to remember what the Normans did in 1066).

If you're going to be working on very large files (images, movies, etc) you need a lot of ram. Otherwise, go for as much as you can within your budget, allowing for whatever else you need.

Answer 8

RAM is random access memory and is only used by a programme when it is running, i.e. by installing lots of programmesyou do not use it up unless you have them all running at the same time.

Answer 9

RAM is Random get right of entry to memory and that's the place the OS shops suggestion that's can get immediately, and a complicated tension is the place basically approximately each little thing is saved whether it is heavily slower than the RAM. What you're seeing is probable spectacular that's, if the two laptops are different fashions.

Answer 10

RAM refers to the hard disc space available to you. It tells you how much information you can store on your laptop.