CHAPTER 1 - Computer System
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kiruthikaCHAPTER 1 - Computer System
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kiruthikaCHAPTER 1:
COMPUTER SYSTEM
OVERVIEW
BY
JEEVESH
RTS OF MAIN MEMORY/PRIMARY MEMORY:
• IN THE RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY(RAM),THE MEMORY CELLS CAN BE
ACCESSED FOR INFORMATION TRANSFER FROM ANY DESIRED RANDOM
LOCATION. THAT IS, THE PROCESS OF LOCATING A WORD IN MEMORY IS THE
SAME AND REQUIRES AN EQUAL AMOUNT IF MEMORY, THUS THE NAME
“RANDOM ACCESS”.
• THE MAIN DRAWBACK OF RAM MEMORY IS THAT IT IS A VOLATILE MEMORY.
THAT IS, WHEN THE POWER GOES OFF, THE CONTENTS OF RAM GET ERASED.
THE RAM CHIPS IN COMPUTER CAN BE OF TWO BASIC
• DYNAMIC RAM (DRAM) :
TYPES:
THESE ARE MADE UP OF TRANSISTORS AND CAPACITORS. TODAY’S DRAM CHIPS HAVE MEMORY ACCESS
TIMES (TIME TAKEN TO PRODUCE DATA FROM MEMORY) RANGING FROM BELOW 20 TO 70 NANO SECONDS.
• STATIC RAM :
THESE ARE MADE UP OF FLIP FLOPS AND OFFER FASTER ACCESS TIMES (ABOUT 10 NANO SECONDS) THAN
DRAMS. STATIC RAMS ARE THUS USED IN SPECIALIZED APPLICATIONS WHILE SECTIONS OF MOST COMPUTERS.
EAD ONLY MEMORY (ROM):
A READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM) IS A MEMORY UNIT THAT PERFORMS THE READ
OPERATION ONLY; IT DOES NOT HAVE A WRITE CAPABILITY. THIS IMPLIES THAT
THE BINARY INFORMATION STORED IN A ROM IS MADE PERMANENT DURING
THE HARDWARE PRODUCTION OF THE UNIT AND CANNOT BE ALTERED BY
WRITING DIFFERENT WORDS INTO IT (HENCE NON-VOLATILE). ROM, HOWEVER
, IS SLOWER THAN RAM.
THERE ARE VARIOUS TYPES OF ROM WHICH ARE GIVEN
BELOW:
• PROM (PROGRAMMABLE ROM): ALSO CALLED AS OTP ( ONE TIME PROGRAMMABLE). PROM IS A USER –
PROGRAMMABLE MEMORY IN WHICH INFORMATION IS BURNT USING SPECIAL EQUIPMENT CALLED A ROM BURNER
• EPROM (ERASABLE PROGRAMMABLE ROM): IN EPROM,ONE CAN PROGRAM THE MEMORY CHIP ( THROUGH
VARIOUS MECHANISM E.G., UV RADIATION) AND ERASE IT MANY TIME AS NEEDED. THE UV-EPROM CAN TAKE
UPTO 20 MINUTES FOR ERASING EPROM CONTENTS.
• EEPROM ( ELECTRICALLY ERASABLE ROM ): IN EEPROM, THE EPROM IS ERASED ELECTRICALLY WHICH IS FASTER.
ALSO, WITH EEPROM,SELECTIVELY BYTES CAN BE ERASED UNLIKE UV-EPROM WHICH ERASES FULLY.
• FLASH EEPROM: IT IS LIKE EEPROM BUT IS VERY FAST COMPARATIVELY ( THE ERASURE OF THE ENTIRE CONTENTS
TAKES LESS THAN A SECOND). ALSO, IT ERASES FULLY AND NOT SELECTIVELY.
• MASK ROM: MASK ROM REFERS TO A KIND OF ROM IN WHICH THE CONTENTS ARE PROGRAMMED BY THE IC
MANUFACTURER. IT IS NOT A USER