Computer memory offers several kinds of storage media some of them can store data temporarily and some of them can store permanently. Memory consists of instructions and the data saved into the computer through the Central Processing Unit (CPU).
Types of Computer Memory
There are two types of Computer Memory which are described in detail as follows:
1. Primary Memory / Volatile Memory
Primary Memory is also called volatile memory because the memory can’t store the data permanently. Primary memory selects any part of memory when the user wants to save the data in memory but that may not be store permanently in that location. It also has another name i.e. RAM. Random Access Memory (RAM) The primary storage is referred to as random access memory (RAM) due to the random selection of memory locations and processes. It performs both read and write operations on memory. If power failures happened in systems during memory access then we will lose our data permanently. So, RAM is volatile memory. RAM is categorized into the following types:
DRAM SRAM DRDRAM
2. Secondary Memory / Non-Volatile Memory
Secondary memory is external and permanent memory that is useful to store the external storage media such as floppy disks, magnetic disks, magnetic tapes and etc cache devices. Secondary memory deals with the following types of components. Read-Only Memory (ROM): ROM is a permanent memory location that offers huge types of standards to save data. But it works with a read-only operation. No data loss happens whenever power failure occurs during the ROM memory work in computers. ROM memory has several models such names are following: Cache Memory: Last but not the least, Cache Memory provides faster data storage and access by storing an instance of programs or temporary programs and data routinely accessed by the Processor. Thus, when a processor requests data that already has an instance in the cache memory, it does not get reverse to the main memory or the hard disk to fetch the data. We hope you got enough information about the memory and its types. Do Comment below and share your views about the article.
