memory

Question 1

What does RAM stand for?

Answer 1

Random access memory

Question 2

What is RAM?

Answer 2

RAM is used as the main memory in a computer. It can be read and written to. When a computer boots up, the operating system is copied from secondary storage to RAM.

Question 3

What is volatile memory?

Answer 3

Volatile memory is temporary memory. It requires power to retain its data.

Question 4

What is non-volatile memory?

Answer 4

Non volatile memory is permanent memory- it keeps its contents even when it has no power.

Question 5

What is main memory?

Answer 5

Main memory is where all data, files and programs are stored while they are being used.

Question 6

What happens when files are opened? Where do they go?

Answer 6

When software applications, documents and files are opened, they are copied from secondary storage to RAM. They stay in RAM until the files or applications are closed.

Question 7

Is RAM volatile?

Answer 7

Yes

Question 8

What happens when RAM fills up?

Answer 8

Computers only have limited amount of RAM. As applications are opened RAM fills up with data.
When RAM is full, data that hasn’t been used recently is moved to a location on secondary storage(virtual memory)

Question 9

Why might virtual memory be needed?

Answer 9

Virtual memory may be needed if there are too many applications open at once, of if a particularly memory intensive application is being used.

Question 10

What happens if the CPU needs to read data stored in virtual memory?

Answer 10

The CPU must move the data back to RAM.

Question 11

Why can using virtual memory make a computer slow to respond?

Answer 11

It can make a computer slow to respond when switching applications or when using a memory intensive application due to data constantly moving between virtual memory and RAM.
The data transfer rates are much slower on secondary storage than RAM.

Question 12

Is RAM faster than CPU cache?

Is RAM faster than secondary storage?

Answer 12

No

Yes

Question 13

What does ROM stand for?

Answer 13

ROM means read only memory

Question 14

Is ROM volatile?

Answer 14

No ROM is non volatile memory

Question 15

What is ROM?

Answer 15

ROM comes on a small, factory made chip built into the motherboard. It contains all the instructions a computer needs to properly boot up. These instructions are called the BIOS(basic input output system).
It can only be read, not written to.

Question 16

How does ROM work?

Answer 16

As soon as the computer is powered on, the CPU reads the instructions from ROM. This tells the CPU to perform self checks and set up the computer e.g test the memory is working ok.
Although the CPU can only read ROM, it is possible to update the BIOS on a ROM chip.

Question 17

What is flash memory?

Answer 17

It is a very common type of non volatile memory that stores data in electrical circuits by trapping electrons.
ROM chips often use flash memory
It is used in SD cards, USB sticks and solid state drives(SSDs).

Question 18

Why will a computer run slowly if it has too little RAM?

Answer 18

Because it has to use more virtual memory which can slow it down

Question 19

Why will more RAM make the appliactiosn run faster?

Answer 19

The more RAM, the more applications or more memory intensive applications can run smoothly, making it faster overall.

Question 20

Will adding more RAM when you don’t need it worth it?

Answer 20

No, if the computer already has plenty of RAM to run everything the user wants, increasing RAM may make no difference.

Question 21

What does GPU stand for?

Answer 21

Graphical processing unit

Question 22

What are GPUs?

Answer 22

GPUs are specialized circuits fro handling graphics and image processing. They relieve the processing load on the CPU, freeing it to do other things.

Question 23

Do computers already have GPUs?

Answer 23

Yes, computers have basic GPUs integrated into the motherboard or the CPU. For better graphics performance, a dedicated GPU is often used.

Question 24

What can high end graphic cards help improve the performace of?

Answer 24

Using high end graphic cards can greatly improve performance in graphics-intensive applications e.g PC gaming and design software.