RAM

• used by CPU as temporary storage
• Increased performance beyond hard drives
• Applications are loaded and ran from RAM
• RAM can be scoped by 32-bit and 64-bit systems

Synchronous SDRAM

• Started as a dual inline memory module (DIMM)
• Most common pin sizes on desktops were 168-pin
• Each slot on a Memory board is called a “bank”
• Tied to the system clock and must match the front side bus, 66, 75, 83, 100

RDRAM

• A stick of RDRAM was called RIMM
• Very Expensive
• Intel Replaced with RAM which was just DRAM

DDR3

• Faster speeds
• Better support for mobile devices like laptops
• uses 240-pin DIMM
• DDR3L/DDR3U are low voltage for servers
• Some motherboards supported tripple channel architecture or quad-channel architectures for DDR3

DDR4

• Release for public consumption since 2014
• Lower voltage than DDR3
• Faster data transfer rates
• DIMMS running DDR4 top out at 64 GB, compared to 16GB max of DDR3
• DDR4 uses 288-pin

Working with RAM

• System share sluggish or the HDD usage is high
• Troubleshooting
  1. Determine fi insufficient RAM is the cause of the problems
  2. Pick the proper RAM for the system
  3. Use good installation practices and store RAM sticks in the anti-static packaging
• Do not mix RAM types
• General system lock ups may occur if we use RAM that is not compatible with the system or other RAM systems