Memory Types

Dr Anita Choudhary
Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science
[email protected] 05/11/202
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Table of Content
Computer Memory

Registers

Cache Memory

RAM

ROM

DMA Controller
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Computer Memory

• Computer memory is the storage space in computer where

data is to be processed and instructions required for
processing are stored.
• The memory is divided into large number of small parts called
cells.
• Each location or cell has a unique address which varies from
zero to memory size minus one.
• For example if computer has 64k words, then this memory unit
has 64 * 1024=65536 memory locations. The address of these
locations varies from 0 to 65535.

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Memory Hierarchy

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Memory Hierarchy

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Memory Hierarchy

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Registers
• Registers are the smallest data holding elements that are built into the
processor itself. These are the memory locations that are directly
accessible by the processor. It may hold an instruction, a storage address,
or any kind of data such as a bit sequence or individual characters.
• There are different types of registers listed below :
• Accumulator Register
• Program Counter (PC) Register
• General-Purpose Registers
• Instruction Register (IR)
• Memory Address Register (MAR)
• Memory Data Register (MDR)
• Stack Pointer (SP)
• Floating-Point Registers 05/11/2025 7
Registers

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Cache Memory
• The cache is a high-speed data storage mechanism used to
temporarily store frequently accessed or recently used data and
instructions.
• It is situated between the main memory (RAM) and the central
processing unit (CPU) in a computer system.
• By storing frequently accessed data closer to the CPU, cache
enables quicker access times, reducing the latency associated
with fetching data from slower main memory.

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Types of CPU Cache

• L1 Cache: L1 cache is divided into separate instruction

cache (L1i) and data cache (L1d). L1 cache is extremely
fast but limited in size, typically ranging from a few KBs
to a few MBs per core.
• L2 Cache: L2 cache serves as a secondary cache,
larger than L1 but slower in access speed. It is shared
among CPU cores within a single CPU core complex or
chip.
• L3 Cache: L3 cache is the last level of cache in the
hierarchy, shared among multiple CPU cores or across
multiple CPU sockets. It is larger than L2 cache but
slower in access speed. 05/11/2025 10
Random-Access Memory
Random-Access Memory
• Random-access memory (RAM) comes in two varieties—static
and dynamic.
• Static RAM (SRAM) is faster and significantly more
expensive than Dynamic RAM (DRAM).
• SRAM is used for cache memories, both on and off the CPU
chip.
• DRAM is used for the main memory plus the frame buffer of a
graphics system.
• Typically, a desktop system will have no more than a few
megabytes of SRAM, but hundreds or thousands of
megabytes of DRAM.
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Static RAM
• SRAM stores each bit in a bistable memory cell. Each cell
is implemented with a six-transistor circuit.
• This circuit has the property that it can stay indefinitely in
either of two different voltage configurations, or states.
• Any other state will be unstable—starting from there, the
circuit will quickly move toward one of the stable states.

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Dynamic RAM

• The main memory (the "RAM") in personal computers is

dynamic RAM (DRAM).
• It is the RAM in desktops, laptops and workstation computers
as well as some of the RAM of video game consoles.
• The advantage of DRAM is its structural simplicity:
only one transistor and a capacitor are required per bit,
compared to four or six transistors in SRAM.
• This allows DRAM to reach very high densities. Unlike flash
memory, DRAM is volatile memory since it loses its data quickly
when power is removed. The transistors and capacitors used
are extremely small; billions can fit on a single memory chip.

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RDRAM
• RDRAM was initially expected to become the standard in PC
memory, especially after Intel agreed to license the Rambus
technology for use with its future chipsets.
• Further, RDRAM was expected to become a standard for VRAM.
However, RDRAM got embroiled in a standards war with an
alternative technology - DDR SDRAM, quickly losing out on grounds
of price, and, later on, performance.
• By around 2001, RDRAM was no longer supported by any
mainstream computing architecture.

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ROM
• Short for Read-Only Memory, ROM is a type of "built-in"
memory that is capable of holding data and having that data
read from the chip, but not written to.
• Unlike Random Access Memory (RAM), ROM is non-
volatile which means it keeps its contents regardless if it has
power or not.
• A diode is used.
• A diode normally allows current to flow in only one direction
and has a certain threshold, known as the forward breakover,
that determines how much current is required before the diode
will pass it on. In silicon-based items such as processors and
memory chips, the forward breakover voltage is approximately
0.6 volts.
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RAM and ROM
RAM ROM
Random Access Memory or Read-only memory or ROM is
RAM is a form of data storage also a form of data storage that
that can be accessed randomly can not be easily altered or
at any time, in any order and reprogrammed.Stores
Definition from any physical location., instuctions that are not
allowing quick access and nescesary for re-booting up to
manipulation. make the computer operate
when it is switched off.They are
hardwired.
Stands for Random Access Memory Read-only memory
RAM allows the computer to ROM stores the program
read data quickly to run required to initially boot the
Use
applications. It allows reading computer. It only allows
and writing. reading.
RAM is volatile i.e. its contents It is non-volatile i.e. its contents
Volatility are lost when the device is are retained even when the
powered off. device is powered 05/11/2025
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The two main types of RAM are The types of ROM include
Types
static RAM and dynamic RAM. PROM, EPROM and EEPROM.
ROM

• A ROM chip can send a charge that is

the forward breakover down the
appropriate column with the selected
row grounded to connect at a specific
cell.
• If a diode is present at that cell, the
charge will be conducted through to
the ground, and, under the binary
system, the cell will be read as being
"on" (a value of 1).
• If the cell's value is 0, and there is no
diode link at that intersection to
connect the column and row. So the
charge on the column does not get
transferred to the row.
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ROM

• The way a ROM chip works necessitates the programming of

complete data when the chip is created.
• You cannot reprogramme or rewrite a standard ROM chip. If it
is incorrect, or the data needs to be updated, you have to throw
it away and start over.
• Creating the original template for a ROM chip is often a
laborious process.
• Once the template is completed, the actual chips can cost as
little as a few cents each.
• They use very little power, are extremely reliable and, in the
case of most small electronic devices, contain all the necessary
programming to control the device.
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Read Only Memory (ROM) Types

• There are four basic ROM types:

1. PROM - Programmable Read Only Memory
2. EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
3. EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read
Only Memory
4. Flash EEPROM memory

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PROM

• Creating ROM chips totally from scratch is time-consuming and

very expensive in small quantities.
• For this reason, developers created a type of ROM known as
programmable read-only memory (PROM).
• Blank PROM chips can be bought inexpensively and coded by
the user with a programmer.
• PROM chips have a grid of columns and rows just as ordinary
ROMs do.
• The difference is that every intersection of a column and row in
a PROM chip has a fuse connecting them.

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PROM
• A charge sent through a column will
pass through the fuse in a cell to a
grounded row indicating a value of 1.
• Since all the cells have a fuse, the
initial (blank) state of a PROM chip is
all 1s.
• To change the value of a cell to 0,
you use a programmer to send a
specific amount of current to the cell.
• The higher voltage breaks the
connection between the column and
row by burning out the fuse.
• This process is known as burning the 05/11/2025 21
PROM.
EPROM

• Working with ROMs and PROMs can be a wasteful business.

Even though they are inexpensive per chip, the cost can add up
over time.
• Erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) addresses
this issue.
• EPROM chips can be rewritten many times. Erasing an EPROM
requires a special tool that emits a certain frequency of
ultraviolet (UV) light.
• EPROMs are configured using an EPROM programmer that
provides voltage at specified levels depending on the type of
EPROM used.
• The EPROM has a grid of columns and rows and the cell at
each intersection has two transistors. 05/11/2025 22
EEPROMs and Flash Memory
• Though EPROMs are a big step up from PROMs in terms of
reusability, they still require dedicated equipment and a labor-
intensive process to remove and reinstall them each time a change
is necessary.
• Also, changes cannot be made incrementally to an EPROM; the
whole chip must be erased.
• Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)
chips remove the biggest drawbacks of EPROMs.
In EEPROMs:
• The chip does not have to removed to be rewritten.
• The entire chip does not have to be completely erased to change a
specific portion of it.
• Changing the contents does not require additional dedicated
equipment. 05/11/2025 23
EEPROMs and Flash Memory
• Instead of using UV light, you can return the electrons in the
cells of an EEPROM to normal with the localized application of
an electric field to each cell.
• This erases the targeted cells of the EEPROM, which can then
be rewritten.
• EEPROMs are changed 1 byte at a time, which makes them
versatile but slow. In fact, EEPROM chips are too slow to use in
many products that make quick changes to the data stored on
the chip.
• Manufacturers responded to this limitation with Flash memory,
a type of EEPROM that uses in-circuit wiring to erase by
applying an electrical field to the entire chip or to
predetermined sections of the chip called blocks.
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EEPROMs and Flash Memory

• This erases the targeted area of the chip, which can then be
rewritten.
• Flash memory works much faster than traditional EEPROMs
because instead of erasing one byte at a time, it erases a block
or the entire chip, and then rewrites it.
• The electrons in the cells of a Flash-memory chip can be
returned to normal ("1") by the application of an electric field, a
higher-voltage charge.

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Direct Memory Access

• The transfer of data between a fast storage device such as

magnetic disk and memory is often limited by the speed of CPU.
• Removing CPU from the path and letting the peripheral devices
manage the memory buses directly improves the speed of
transfer.
this is called Direct Memory Access.
• During memory transfer CPU is idle has no control of memory
buses.
• A DMA controller takes over the buses to manage the transfer
directly between the I/O device and memory.

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Speed, Size, and Cost
 A big challenge in the design of a computer system is to
provide a sufficiently large memory, with a reasonable
speed at an affordable cost.
 Static RAM:
 Very fast, but expensive, because a basic SRAM cell has a complex circuit
making it impossible to pack a large number of cells onto a single chip.
 Dynamic RAM:
 Simpler basic cell circuit, hence are much less expensive, but significantly
slower than SRAMs.
 Magnetic disks:
 Storage provided by DRAMs is higher than SRAMs, but is still less than what is
necessary.
 Secondary storage such as magnetic disks provide a large amount
of storage, but is much slower than DRAMs.
Thank You

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