What Is RAM? Everything You Need to Know

[learninmypc]

People often draw parallels between computers and the human brain, and sometimes, it’s an apt comparison. For example, both the brain and a computer have short- and long-term memory. RAM is where a computer stores its short-term memory.


What Is RAM?
FULL ARTICLE

 

[neeyik]

There's some rather misleading comments made in that article:

RAM is made up of tiny capacitors and transistors capable of holding an electric charge that represents bits of data...

Only DRAM is made like this; SRAM (the memory embedded into processors, in the forms of registers and cache) just uses transistors. Which is why the next statement:

... similar to processors and other parts of your computer.

Isn't true.
Another very questionable remark is:

Forensic specialists can retrieve data from RAM under special circumstances.

This statement was made right after a point about how data is lost once DRAM loses power. Memory forensics either analyses memory dumps or does live captures of the RAM state, while still powered. While the remark by itself is correct, it's position in the article suggests that this can be done even with no power to the DRAM, which certainly isn't true.

 

[learninmypc]

Since I'm not the author, you might tell IAN PAUL @ianpaul

 

[neeyik]

My comments weren't directed at yourself, nor specifically about the original author - just that some of the statements in it need to be read with caution.

 

[learninmypc]

Understood

 

[SomeGuy1]

Random-access memory is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working data and machine code. A random-access memory device allows data items to be read or written in almost the same amount of time irrespective of the physical location of data inside the memory.

 

[Endymio]

Random-access memory is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order...

While technically true, essentially all memory today is random access; the name persists for historical reasons.

 

[charles1998]

Thanks, man. Very helpful article.

 

[GLenn63]

There's some rather misleading comments made in that article:

Only DRAM is made like this; SRAM (the memory embedded into processors, in the forms of registers and cache) just uses transistors. Which is why the next statement:

Isn't true.
Another very questionable remark is:

This statement was made right after a point about how data is lost once DRAM loses power. Memory forensics either analyses memory dumps or does live captures of the RAM state, while still powered. While the remark by itself is correct, it's position in the article suggests that this can be done even with no power to the DRAM, which certainly isn't true.

On 2 different occasions I transferred ram from one computer to another and I was amazed that both times the ram held onto the "memory" of the desktop wallpaper on a different computer. The first time it was it was with ddr3 & the second was ddr4. I had always thought that the memory of ram was just in the moment and did not store any.