C O M P U T E R

P O W E R

U S E R

1.2GBps and PC800 RDRAM can move

data at 1.6GBps.
Buying tips. If youre confused by the different names for the various types of RAM,
especially when trying to compare them across
RAM families, stick to comparing the amount
of data each one can move per second. Ignore
the PC100, PC800, or PC2100 names when
comparing types of RAM between memory
families. When upgrading, dont mix types of
RAM from different RAM families.
Finally, remember that the measurements of data movement per second would
occur only in a perfect world. Data errors,
bottlenecks in other portions of the computer, and CAS latency all will lower the
actual amount of data the memory can
move per second.

Regardless of which memory technology

becomes the newest industry standard, one
thing is certain: Memory technology has come
a long way.
Todays (& Tomorrows) Memory
RAM is a key component of your computer. It might not be as important as the microprocessor, but it does affect how quickly and
efficiently the microprocessor can do its job.
The amount of RAM in your computer also
affects exactly which software you can use.
RAM amounts have grown tremendously
over the years. In the earliest PCs in the
late 1970s, 4KB or less of RAM was common. Late in the 1980s, about 1MB of
RAM was common, a 250-fold increase
over the earliest computers. Todays

One Clock Cycle

Herding
The Data
his graphic shows
the potential maximum bandwidths for the
three most popular types
of RAM currently available. Keep in mind the
potential maximum bandwidth is available only
under perfect conditions,
which systems can almost
never attain. RDRAM and
SDRAM currently seem to
have an easier time
achieving bandwidths
closer to their maximum
than DDR, although that
could change as the
technology improves.
While this graph applies
to currently available
speeds and bandwidths,
Rambus has announced
plans for 32-bit and
64-bit buses for RDRAM
in a few years.

Windows-based PCs usually have 128MB

or 256MB of RAM.
As long as silicon is the major manufacturing component in memory modules, you can
expect RAM amounts installed in personal
computers to continue growing steadily.
However, other technologies on the horizon
could completely change the way we think of
RAM and data storage. In the short term, you
can expect manufacturers to continue to try to
improve the speed with which data moves
from RAM to the microprocessor. It could
involve improving technology used in the
memory bus to increase size and efficiency.
You will also see microprocessor manufacturers
trying to include more and more SRAM within the cache areas of the microprocessor architecture, improving overall system speed.

One bus channel

magnified

CPU

0011011010100111010

RDRAMs maximum potential

bandwidth is 1.6GBps (800
million effective clock cycles
per second times 2 bytes).

CPU

CPU

0
1

1
1

1
0

0
0

0
1

One bus channel

magnified

0011011010100111010

01111100111100

RDRAM
800MHz*

64-bit (8-byte) bus

DDR
226MHz
01111100111100

64-bit (8-byte) bus

SDRAMs maximum potential

bandwidth is 1.06GBps (133
million effective clock cycles
per second times 8 bytes).

0
1

One bus channel

magnified

0011011010100111010

DDRs maximum potential

bandwidth is 2.1GBps (266
million effective clock cycles
per second times 8 bytes).

16-bit (2-byte) bus

SDRAM

1
01111100111100

The memory sends bits of binary data along

each bus channel. RDRAM and DDR can
send 2 bits of data per clock cycle per
channel; SDRAM can send 1 bit.

*Megahertz measures the number of million clock cycles each type of RAM can achieve per second. Because RDRAM and DDR can
send 2 bits per clock cycle, their effective clock cycle measurements are double the actual measurements.

133MHz