Memory Characteristics

Memory Characteristics

A bank of memory consists of the width of the CPU's external data bus, divided by the width of the SIMM.

	Volatile	Non-Volatile
Read/Write	General term = "RAM" (faster than other system components) Static RAM (SRAM) No refresh required Comes on motherboard (used for cache), as chips, or COAST (cache on stick) modules No memory addresses assigned Dynamic RAM (DRAM) Requires constant refresh Comes as DIMMs, SIMMs, RIMMs Memory addresses assigned	PROM, EPROM, EEPROM (Flash Memory)
Read-Only	Not common	General term = "ROM"

Other characteristics that differentiate types of memory:

• Physical Packaging
• Data Width
• Error Correction Methods
• Physical Dimensions
• Storage Capacity
• Speed
• Cost