1.1.3.3 RAM and ROM

Question 1

What is RAM?

Answer 1

• Random Access Memory
• Memory used to store programs and data in use by the computer.
• Quick access times by all data is lost when the computer is turned off (volatile memory).
• RAM is a type of fast main memory used to store data and programs that the computer is currently using.
• This speeds up the computer’s execution as RAM has higher access speeds than even flash memory.
• RAM is more expensive per gigabyte than secondary storage devices, so computers often have only 4 or 8 GB or RAM compared to 100s or 1000s of GB of secondary storage.
• RAM is volatile, meaning that it loses its information when power is lost.
• For this reason, RAM isn’t used for storing personal files but as temporary storage while the computer is running.

Question 2

What is ROM?

Answer 2

• Memory used to store information that is permanently required to boot up and run the computer.
• Cannot be written to and is non-volatile.
• Read only memory, as the name suggests, cannot be modified.
• Once programmed, the state of the memory cells inside do not change.
• ROM is useful for storing fixed sequences of instructions like a computer’s startup (bootstrap) routine.
• ROM is non- volatile, so it retains its data even when the computer is powered off.