UNIT-2 COMPUTER MEMORY

2.1 COMPUTER MEMORY

The computer memory is any kind of physical device capable of storing information either
temporarily r permanently. Memory devices utilize integrated circuits and are used by operating
systems, software, and hardware. Memory consists of instructions and data saved into
computer through CPU. The performance of computer is mainly based on the CPU and
memory. In a broader sense, computer memory is divided into two main types.

Primary or Main or Internal Memory Secondary or Auxiliary or Backing Storage Memory

Primary or Main memory holds instructions and data when a program is executed, while
secondary memory (also called auxiliary memory) holds data and programs not currently in use
and provides long-term storage

2.1.1 Units of Memory

The following are basic memory measurement units.

Bit

Byte

Memory Word

(a) Bit A bit or binary digit is the basic unit of information in computing. A bit is the smallest
amount of memory, a computer can recognize. A bit can represent only one of two values,
either 'O' or '1'. It is als applied to a unit of computer memory corresponding to the ability to
store the result of a choice betwees two alternatives. Computers represent information in binary
code, written as sequences of Os and Is. In computers many bits are combined together to hold
more information

(b) Byte

In most computer systems, a byte is a unit of data that is eight hits long. A byte is the unit most
computen

use to represent a character such as an alphabet, a number, or a special symbol. For example;
A, h, 6, 4, K G., etc. Computer storage is measured in multiples of byte. For example, a 500
Gigabyte (GB) hard drive holds 500 billion bytes of data Higher units of memory

The following are higher units of memory. These are the multiple of the unit byte for digital
information storage.
The table below illustrates the higher unit in terms of bytes

Unit

Representation

Description

1 KiloByte (KB)

2 bytes

1024 Bytes

1 MegaByte (MB)

2 bytes

1024 Kilobyte

1 GigaByte (GB)

2 bytes

1024 MegaByte

1024 GigaByte

1 TeraByte (TB)

1 PetaByte (PB)

2 bytes

2" bytes

1024 TeraByte

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Kilobyte Kilo means one thousand (1000) but in digital computer as infirmation is stored in
binary digits (0. and as units are power of 2 and the nearest number near thousand is 2-1024,
11 is commonly abbreviated KB (for Kilo Bytes).

(c) Memory Word A word is simply a fixed sized group of bits that are handled together by the
system. Modem computers nually have a word size of 32 or 64 bits.

2.2 PRIMARY MEMORY

Main memory or Primary memory is the part of the computer that holds data and instructions for
processing Computer internal memory is used to store data that is used by the system at startup
and to run various types of programs such as the operating system. Computer memory is
normally of several gigabytes

When users run software from a storage medium, it is loaded in the main memory first and then
it is

executed. CPU gets programs from the main memory for processing

Мскосия

2.2.1 Chip Memory and Magnetic Memory

Computer memory, as far as its manufacturing is concerned, is divided into two types, L., Chip
memory and

Magnetic memory. (a) Chip Memory

Chip or microchip is a small piece of semi-conducting material (usually

silicon). A small circuit called IC (Integrated Circuit) is embedded into it. A typical chip contains
millions of electronic components (transistors). A chip

is a silicon wafer, which is first cut to size and then etched with circuits and

electronic devices. It uses metal-oxide semiconductor technology. The microchips are built
using Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) and Ultra

Large-Scale Integration (ULSI)

Figure 2.1 A chip

Chip memories are very fast as compared to other memories as there are no mechanical
moving parts in them but on the other hand chips rely on electric currents ROM and Cache),
SSD, Flash memory drives,

Examples of chip memory are main memory (RAM, memory cards and registers. Many special-
purpose chips, known as application-specific integrated circuits, are also being made today for
automobiles, home appliances, telephones, and other devices.

Figure 2.1 shows a chip memory

(b) Magnetic Memory Magnetic core memory was the most widely used form of digital computer
memory since 1950s till

1970s. Magnetic memory is not in use as Main memory nowadays. 222 Volatile and Non-
Volatile Memory

Memory, on the basis of retention of power, can be divided into two types ie, volatile and non-
volatile memory.

(a) Volatile Memory

Volatile memory is computer memory that requires power (electricity) to maintain the stored
information. Volatile memory retains the information as long as power supply remains ON, but
when

Computer Science -X127)

UNIT COMPUTER MEMORY

power supply turns OFF or interrupted, the stored data is lost. It is also known as temporary
memory. Examples of such memory are RAM (Random Access Memory) and Registers (b)
Non-Volatile Memory

Non-volatile memory is a permanent memory that can retain the stored information even if
power supply is OFF. Examples of non-volatile memory include ROM (Read-Only Memory),
flash memory,

magnetic storage devices (eg, hard disks and magnetic tape), optical disks, and SSDs. Non-
volatile memory is typically used for secondary storage, or long-term storage for future use.

2.2.3 Fundamental types of Main Memory Fundamentally Main or Primary memory is classified
into three types.
Internal processor memory (a) Internal Processor Memory

RAM

ROM

These are directly accessible to the CPU and are extremely fast. The following are the two main
types of Internal processor memories.

Cache memory

Registers Cache lies in between the CPU and main memory while registers are associated with
the arithmetic logic units.

1. Cache Memory

Cache (pronounced as cash) memory is an extremely fast memory that is built into a computer's
CPU, or

located next to it on a separate chip. Most of the computers today use cache memory, that
stores frequently used instructions and data, improving overall system speed. When any
information is required by the processor, first it will look up in the cache memory, and if it is not
available in the cache then it will

fetch it from RAM. There are two main levels of cache memory. L1 cache

Level 1 cache is built into the actual processor core. It is the fastest memory and closest to the
CPU but very expensive and small in size (typically up to 8MBytes). 1.2 cache

The purpose of the L2 cache is to constantly read in slightly larger quantities of data from RAM,
so that

these are available to the L1 cache. It is normally from 64 KB to 16 MB

L2 Cache