Basics for selecting a RAM for your working PC  - Size, Versions and Upgrades

Contents

• The Role of RAM in Computing Devices 

• Working of Random Access Memory

• A basic idea for selecting the size of the RAM

• Signs that You need to upgrade your RAM

The Role of RAM in Computing Devices 

RAM aka Random Access Memory, is a primary memory utilised by computing devices. 

The actual working of the computer is happening inside this RAM and CPU, ( CPU also possesses a memory called cache.)

Ram is slow in comparison with Cache memories. The files are fetched from the hard disk and loaded into RAM for processing. This is how a user interface is rendered and shown to us.

There are several kinds of RAM for different purposes. SRAM is typically used for creating cache memories, while DRAM is typically outside of a processing unit and can be removed and upgraded easily. All these RAMs need a constant power supply, otherwise all data stored in it will be lost. That is why it is called a volatile memory. Some devices come with inbuilt RAM in a chip called systems on chips aka SoCs. 

The size of the RAM plays a crucial role in this fetching and Loading process. If you have more RAM, the computer will work faster, but only proportional to RAM speed. 

Working of Random Access Memory

DRAM has small capacitors inside it, these small capacitors are charged and discharged to represent 0 and 1. These capacitors are very small, So the charge will flow out very fast. To avoid data corruption, these capacitors need to be charged in between intervals. A minimum charging rate requirement will be at least ten to 20 times per second. 

The current standard of RAM is called DDR, which means Double Data Rate. And the new version is DDR 5. Each version increases its speed and performance from its previous version. 

The new version DDR 5 has about 4800 to 8500 MT/s

A basic idea for selecting the size of the RAM

• With current standards and working experience, You are going to need 8 GB RAM in your PC/ Laptop with a base processor to run basic functionalities and test processing smoothly. 

• If you are working on basic image editing and small-level programming, you will need 8 to 16 GB RAM with a midlevel processor. 

• With 16 to 32 GB RAM and a very good processor, you can perform machine learning programming, data analysis, professional image/video editing etc. 

• If you wanna futureproof yourself for a long time, you can opt for laptops and PCs with more than 32 GB RAM and high-end processors. 

Signs that You need to upgrade your RAM

• If your PC slows down while Running your required tasks.

• It is taking a long boot time, 

• It shuts down apps without warning, 

• Providing insufficient memory when you try to run more applications 

All these can be a sign of insufficient RAM. But the Processor also plays a great part in computing performance. Sometimes these problems are also an indicator of the performance of your CPU. You need to check your CPU load before deciding about the RAM upgrade. 

RAM is a standardized product, if you want to increase the capacity of your RAM, you can simply buy a RAM and upgrade your device with it. But, you need to check the version of the RAM your device supports before trying to upgrade your computer memory. RAM pins may differ from older to newer models of Motherboards. Older models tend to use lesser DDR versions, while newer models have the current DDR version. Please check your laptop / PC specs before deciding on a RAM upgrade.