All about RAM you need to know

These days, RAM a.k.a Random Access Memory is the most important factor that one sees before buying a smartphone or a laptop or a computer.

The common perception today is that higher the RAM, speedier the system will be. However, most of this are true, but RAM alone can't determine the speed of the system. Today, in this article we come up with some of the important things you should know about the RAM.

What is RAM? 

Basically, RAM is the volatile memory, meaning, it will erase all the data once you clear it or restart the device. This specific part of the system is used to store the data of the system temporarily and data being actively used by applications.

Types of RAM 

The RAM comes in two form factors -- DIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Module), which is found in desktops and servers, and SO-DIMM (Small Outline DIMM), you can see this in laptops and small computers. Even though, it has different sizes, the technology behind this is same. Saying that you cannot mix up both the RAM's as well.

What is DDR? 

We've come across DDR3 RAM sometimes when we look up at the specifications of the devices. So what exactly is the DDR? The acronym of DDR is Double Data Rate, which means that two transfers happen per clock cycle. As tech grows, the RAM's technology also grows and thus came DDR, DDR2, DDR3 and much more. DDR2 is the oldest RAM and comes with 240 pins (200 for SO-DIMM). Today, you can buy this, in case if you want to upgrade your older machine.

The DDR3 was released in 2007 and is used in most of the system. While DDR3 DIMMs have the same number of pins as DDR2 they run at lower voltages and higher timings. The DDR4 is the newest addition to the RAM family. As per the specifications, it drops the voltage from 1.5V to 1.2V with increasing the number of pins to 260. 

RAM has been referred in a way with two set of numbers -- DDR3-1600 and PC3-12800. The number paired after DDR refers to the number of mega transfers (MT) per second. (For example, DDR3-1600 RAM operates at 1600 MT/s). The number paired after PC refers to the theoretical bandwidth in megabytes per second. (For example, PC3-12800 operates at 12800 MB/s).

The Frequency is measured in MHz and higher numbers indicate faster access to the information stored in memory. The Latency, on the other hand, represent the delay between a request and execution of the task, meaning lower numbers are better.