How Computer Memory Works

[DataCruncher]

In-depth explanation and fantastic animation.




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This one is about AMD's success.

[DataCruncher]

[Catsumi]

Haha!

[TylerM4]

Great article. I felt they went into a little more depth than was needed, but was good.

I'm excited for where we may take things with NVME solid state storage. It's getting very fast. Not DRAM fast, but certainly much better than what was previously available. Another way to look at RAM is simply a memory storage device that's limited in capacity but provides very fast performance (along with the limitation of data being lost if power is removed).

I can see 2 ways modern electronics may change as a result of this technology:
1) Smaller and lower performance electronics may not need a SSD and RAM, but could instead use NVME storage for both purposes. The fact that NVME is stateful (keeps data if power is lost) will help make up for performance impact. On powerup the device can instantly resume from where it left off with no boot time. Sorta like putting a laptop into sleep mode except sleep mode in a laptop still requires some power to maintain the data stored in it's RAM.
2) High performance devices could transition to a 3-tier memory/storage configuration. Right now most PC's use RAM for frequently or recently accessed data and the HDD/SDD for everything else. The operating system decides what should be kept in RAM and what should be flushed to make space for the next batch of data loaded from the HDD/SDD. We could move to a system where NVME is used like an extension of RAM while also taking advantage of it's stateful nature. We all know that adding RAM will increase the performance of a device. Similar idea except instead of adding a little bit of very high performance storage, we add a lot of high performance storage. People "sort of" do this already in performance devices that have both NVME and SDD/HDD's storage devices installed by manually choosing where to keep the data. For example: Movies and pictures kept on slower and inexpensive storage, video games installed on the high performance storage. Allowing the OS to do this for us would make it simpler for the user while optimizing the experience/performance even better.

[Jlabute]

Somewhat like Intel Optane (phase change memory)

A few years back this made headlines, and people were waiting in-line to get their hands on some. Now that it has been out for a while, I think the excitement has died off. It was expensive, and has performance in-between NVMe and DRAM.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorag ... e-shutdown

[DataCruncher]

Q:

Re: O/S, storage, memory, gpu, cpu and down the line...

So when it comes to developing next gen hrdwr or sftwr, who sets the standards/benchmarks that other will/must follow in order that all components are compatible?

And, do all the manufacturers collaborate?

[DataCruncher]

Samsung Profits Plunge 69% As Global Chip Demand In 'Full-Fledged Ice Age'

"Readers have been well informed about South Korea's largest company grappling with dismal memory chip demand. We cited the Korea Economic Daily in September that warned about Samsung's troubles and how the "semiconductor industry has entered a full-fledged ice age."

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/samsu ... ed-ice-age

[TylerM4]

Q:

Re: O/S, storage, memory, gpu, cpu and down the line...

So when it comes to developing next gen hrdwr or sftwr, who sets the standards/benchmarks that other will/must follow in order that all components are compatible?

And, do all the manufacturers collaborate?

The answer to these question could be an entire book. I'll try to keep it high level.

On modern devices, the Operating System(OS) controls how an application access computer hardware/resources. For example: The application doesn't chose the memory location, it tells the OS "I want to store this in memory" and later "I want to retrieve that data I asked you to store for me a moment ago". Similar for drawing something on the screen. The application tells the OS "I want to draw this..." and the OS works with the physical hardware to make it happen.

You're probably starting to pick up where I'm going with this: Everything must be compatible with the OS and it's through that required compatibility that we have different hardware combinations being able to come together to work. All of the physical hardware and the application/game must be compatible with the OS. So when someone builds a new graphics card for example, they need to make sure it's compatible with the intended operating system(s) and include required drivers for that OS.

Some interesting tangents on this topic:
- Apple OS devices are widely seen as more stable. People attribute this to the fact that apple writes a better OS but the reality is that the improved stability is achieved because apple is not an open hardware development platform. Only apple makes the hardware that goes into an apple device. That makes the total hardware combinations much less diverse, and allows much better quality control when it's the same company that builds the OS also builds the hardware it runs on. It also allows apple to charge an arm and a leg and to ensure they get all of the profit from selling both the OS and the hardware. Don't let the fan boys fool you - that's the main reason Apple does it NOT because they want the best experience for their customers. And yes, Apple has started to use more standard components and in some cases people have been able to install Windows OS on an apple device as a result. But hardware selection is still dictated by what Apple approves, and you still have to buy it from Apple even if it's an Intel processor.
- When it comes to high performance gaming, additional applications/environments come into play that can somewhat bypass or modify the operating system's involvement. For example: Microsoft's DirectX environment is used for many games. It optimizes the OS/application interaction for videogames improving functionality and performance . In many cases, DirectX does allow the application to interact directly with the hardware instead of acting like a middle-man to relay requests. I'd describe it as "supervised direct communication between application and hardware". In a way DirectX introduces the application and the hardware to each other and tells the application about the hardware's abilities. It then allows the 2 to speak directly to each other and supervises that interaction so that the OS is aware of what's going on and can intervene if the application tries to do something that's not allowed/compatible.

[Bsuds]

So 2 things I have learned from this topic.

1: The OS (my Wife) decides what and where I remember things.

2: As soon as I'm powered down (as in sleep or nap) when I wake up I have forgotten everything!

[alanjh595]

So 2 things I have learned from this topic.

1: The OS (my Wife) decides what and where I remember things.

2: As soon as I'm powered down (as in sleep or nap) when I wake up I have forgotten everything!

[DataCruncher]

So 2 things I have learned from this topic.

1: The OS (my Wife) decides what and where I remember things.

2: As soon as I'm powered down (as in sleep or nap) when I wake up I have forgotten everything!

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Also a thank you to TylerM4 for the info submitted here. Much appreciated.