Summer Ferrell

Assignment: RAM and Expansion Cards

CISB 11 CRN 22254

October 30, 2009

http://www.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm

Random Access Memory is the best known form of computer memory. You can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell, which is why RAM is considered “Random Access”. SAM is the opposite of RAM and the data can only be accessed sequentially, while RAM data can be accessed in any order. There are many types of RAM, such as DRAM which has memory cells with a paired transistor and capacitor requiring constant refreshing. You can almost never have enough RAM, and it is the most important factor for your computers performance. If you don’t have enough, adding RAM can make more of a difference than getting a new CPU.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_access_memory

Random Access Memory is commonly known as RAM. It is a form of computer data storage. The data stored can be accessed in any order regardless of its condition. DRAM is a form of ram where the information is lost after the power is switched off. Many other types of memory are RAM too including ROM and flash memory. If a computer is low on RAM during intensive application cycles, many CPU architectures and operating systems are able to perform an operation known as “swapping”. Swapping uses a paging file that’s an area on a hard drive. However this generally lowers overall system performance.

http://en.kioskea.net/contents/pc/ram.php3

There are generally two broad categories of random access memory, DRAM and SRAM. DRAM is the most commonly used type of memory this millennium. The Random Access Memory comprises hundreds of small capacitors that store loads. They must be constantly refreshed about every 15 nanoseconds. Each capacitor is coupled with a transistor enabling recovery of the status of the capacitor. The many forms of ram exist in memory modules such as SIMM, DIMM, and RIMM each one containing a different amount of pins modules.

Video Graphics Board

Manufacturer	Model	Price (Aprox.)	Core Clock	Memory
ATI	Radeon HD 5870	$400	900 MHZ	1 GB GDDR5
Nvidia	GeForce GTX 295	$500	576 MHZ	896 GB DDR3
MSI	NX8600 GT	$200	580 MHZ	256 MB GDDR3

If I were choosing a video graphics board I would purchase from ATI. Their cards seem to have the highest performances and can be found at lower prices than cards from Nvidia’s. Even if the ATI Radeon HD 5870 was out of my price range there are many other cards at a lower price that still hold up to a high quality standard needed for a good video graphics board. I was impressed with this company’s card and if I ever start searching for one, it will definitely be with this company.