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Comptia A+ 901 > Lesson 3 - Objectives 1.2 (RAM part only) and 1.3 (All) [Memorization and Understanding] > Flashcards

Lesson 3 - Objectives 1.2 (RAM part only) and 1.3 (All) [Memorization and Understanding] Flashcards

1
Q

What is RAM

A
  • Stands for Random access memory
  • Temporary working storage for data and programs that are being accessed by the CPU (ie main memory used by CPU)
  • Its volatile memory, the contents are erased every time the computer is powered off
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2
Q

What impact does more RAM have on system performance

A

More RAM enhances system performance, as it increases the memory capacity of the computer to hold and process programs and files. With less RAM, the computer will have to swap data between RAM and the hard drive which is much slower. The maximum amount of RAM that can be installed is limited by the motherboard

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3
Q

Name and compare/contrast the two main categories of RAM

A

SRAM

  • Static Random Access Memory
  • Does not need to be refreshed
  • Found in the cache memory of a CPU
  • Soldered directly to a PCB(printed circuit board) ie motherboard, or directly integrated to CHIP
  • NOT something to replace

DRAM

  • Dynamic Random Access Memory
  • Does need to be periodically refreshed (ie data is read on memory and immediately rewritten to area)
  • SLOWER than SRAM
  • Volatile sticks or DIMMS of DRAM are installed on the mobo
  • Can exists on adapter cards
  • Can be replaced, troubleshooted
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4
Q

What does SDRAM stand for and what is it

A

Synchronous DRAM

  • Syncs to base clock of mobo (system bus speed), ie operates in sync with the memory bus, which is the data path between the CPU and the main memory
  • Referred to as PC66, PC100, etc
  • Form: 168 pin DIMM, 2 notches on bottom
  • Its old and obsolete
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5
Q

What is DDR

A
  • An improvement on SDRAM
  • Twice the data rate of SDRAM, because if transfers data twice per clock cycle
  • 184 pins
  • 2.5 Volts
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6
Q

What is DDR2

A
  • 240 Pins (faster signalling)
  • 1.8 V
  • increases speed
  • improves performance by decreasing noise and crosstalk between signal wires
  • 2X bus clock multiplier of DDR
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7
Q

What is DDR3

A
  • 240 pins
  • 1.2-1.5 V
  • Consumes less power and generates less speed
  • Increases memory by doubling clock rate of DDR2
  • 4X bus clock multiplier of DDR
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8
Q

Name the DDR Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC1600

Hint: The various DDR Standards are DDR-200, DDR-266, DDR-333, DDR400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR Standard: DDR-200
I/O Clock Speed: 100 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 200 million
Transfer Rate: 1600 MB/s

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9
Q

Name the DDR Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC2100

Hint: The various DDR Standards are DDR-200, DDR-266, DDR-333, DDR400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR Standard: DDR-266
I/O Clock Speed: 133 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 266 million
Transfer Rate: 2133 MB/s

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10
Q

Name the DDR Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC2700

Hint: The various DDR Standards are DDR-200, DDR-266, DDR-333, DDR400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR Standard: DDR-333
I/O Clock Speed: 166 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 333 million
Transfer Rate: 2667 MB/s

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11
Q

Name the DDR Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3200

Hint: The various DDR Standards are DDR-200, DDR-266, DDR-333, DDR400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR Standard: DDR-400
I/O Clock Speed: 200 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 400 million
Transfer Rate: 3200 MB/s

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12
Q

Name the DDR-2 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC2-3200

Hint: The various DDR2 Standards are DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, and DDR2-1066. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-2 Standard: DDR2-400
I/O Clock Speed: 200 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 400 million
Transfer Rate: 3200 MB/s

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13
Q

Name the DDR-2 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC2-4200

Hint: The various DDR2 Standards are DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, and DDR2-1066. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-2 Standard: DDR2-533
I/O Clock Speed: 266 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 533 million
Transfer Rate: 4266 MB/s

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14
Q

Name the DDR-2 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC2-5300

Hint: The various DDR2 Standards are DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, and DDR2-1066. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-2 Standard: DDR2-667
I/O Clock Speed: 333 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 667 million
Transfer Rate: 5333 MB/s

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15
Q

Name the DDR-2 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC2-6400

Hint: The various DDR2 Standards are DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, and DDR2-1066. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A 
DDR-2 Standard: DDR2-800
I/O Clock Speed: 400 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 800 million
Transfer Rate: 6400 MB/s
Transfer Rate: 6400 MB/s
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16
Q

Name the DDR-2 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC2-8500

Hint: The various DDR2 Standards are DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, and DDR2-1066. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-2 Standard: DDR2-1066
I/O Clock Speed: 533 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 1.066 billion
Transfer Rate: 8533 MB/s

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17
Q

Name the DDR-3 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3-6400

Hint: The various DDR3 Standards are DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600, DDR3-1866, DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-3 Standard: DDR3-800
I/O Clock Speed: 400 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 800 million
Transfer Rate: 6,400 MB/s

18
Q

Name the DDR-3 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3-8500

Hint: The various DDR3 Standards are DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600, DDR3-1866, DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-3 Standard: DDR3-1066
I/O Clock Speed: 533 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 1.066 billion
Transfer Rate: 8,533 MB/s

19
Q

Name the DDR-3 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3-10600

Hint: The various DDR3 Standards are DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600, DDR3-1866, DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-3 Standard: DDR3-1333
I/O Clock Speed: 667 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 1.333 billion
Transfer Rate: 10,667 MB/s

20
Q

Name the DDR-3 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3-12800

Hint: The various DDR3 Standards are DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600, DDR3-1866, DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-3 Standard: DDR3-1600
I/O Clock Speed: 800 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 1.600 billion
Transfer Rate: 12,800 MB/s

21
Q

Name the DDR-3 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3-14900

Hint: The various DDR3 Standards are DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600, DDR3-1866, DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-3 Standard: DDR3-1866
I/O Clock Speed: 933 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 1.866 billion
Transfer Rate: 14,933 MB/s

22
Q

Name the DDR-3 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3-17000

Hint: The various DDR3 Standards are DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600, DDR3-1866, DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-3 Standard: DDR3-2133
I/O Clock Speed: 1066 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 2.133 billion
Transfer Rate: 17,066 MB/s

23
Q

Name the DDR-3 Standard, I/O clock speed, transfers per second and transfer rate for the following module: PC3-19200

Hint: The various DDR3 Standards are DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600, DDR3-1866, DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400. (This hint is placed here because the exams are multiple choice, you can always work backwards from the options as well)

A

DDR-3 Standard: DDR3-2400
I/O Clock Speed: 1200 Mhz
Transfers per Second: 2.400 billion
Transfer Rate: 19200 MB/s

24
Q

What is single channel architecture

A
  • 64 bit bus between memory and memory controller

- All sticks of ram share the same channel

25
Q

What is dual channel architecture

A
  • Doubles the data, higher throughput
  • Two 64 bit channels are employed together resulting in a 128 bit bus
  • Hence two memory modules are accessed at the same time
26
Q

What is triple channel architecture

A
  • 192 bit bus
  • Three modules accessed at the same time
  • Limited to intel core i7-900 series processors and LGA 1366 socket
27
Q

What is DIMM Memory

A
  • Dual Inline Memory Module
  • Circuit board that holds SDRAM, DDR, DDR2, and DDR3 chips
  • SDRAM: 168 pins
  • DDR: 184 pins
  • DDR2 and DDR3: 240 pins
28
Q

What is SODIMM memory

A
  • Small outline DIMM
  • Smaller version of DIMMS for laptops, printers etc
  • 72-pin and 100-pin: for 32-bit transfers
  • 144, 200 and 204 pin: for 64 bit transfers
29
Q

What is Nonparity memory

A

-Memory that doesn’t check for errors

30
Q

What is Parity Memory/RAM Parity

A
  • Memory stores an extra bit for parity checking (Regularly there are 8 bits of memory in a byte, in this situation there are 9 bits of memory in a byte)
  • The error checking bit is called a parity bit
  • Required for data integrity
31
Q

ECC memory

A
  • Error correction code in RAM
  • Can detect and correct errors on the fly
  • Slowest of most expensive type of ram
  • Needs more resources, as more information is stored
  • Usually identified with an E, example: PC3-10600E
  • Ideal for servers
32
Q

What is latency

A

The delay or lag in communication when the memory controller tries to access data from a memory module

33
Q

What is unbuffered memory

A
  • Regular RAM

- Reads data directly from memory banks, hence faster than buffered memory

34
Q

What is buffered memory

A
  • Additional control chip on stick that assists memory controller in managing large quantities of ram
  • Used for servers and high end work stations
  • Avoid using for gaming and average stations because the extra chip slows it down
35
Q

What is a single sided memory module

A
  • Chips on both physical sides or only one side, but it is a single bank of chips
  • Single sided because the computer can address all chips at once
36
Q

What is a double sided memory module

A
  • Chips on a memory module divided on two sides known as banks
  • Only one side can be seen by the computer once
37
Q

How can you trouble shoot to determine if there is a problem with the RAM

A
  • Execute the RAM test in the BIOS
  • Use special software that tests RAM like CPU-Z
  • Replace the module with a known good module and restart the computer to check if it works without errors
38
Q

What are some signs there may be trouble with the RAM

A
  • Usually when an application locks up

- The computer displays frequent error messages

39
Q

What factors should you consider when choosing the RAM

A
  • Must be compatible with the mobo

- Speed of the new RAM must be supported by chipset

40
Q

How do you install new RAM

A
  • ESD measures
  • Ready MOBO
  • Install: hold at top corners, orient, place in slot and press down until it locks
  • Test installation:
  • -boot and make sure BIOS POST recognizes RAM as the right type
  • -view the new RAM in windows
  • -Task manager
  • -cpu-z

Comptia A+ 901 (3 decks)

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