{"id":27959,"date":"2021-01-05T13:12:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T21:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/?p=27959"},"modified":"2022-06-18T22:07:51","modified_gmt":"2022-06-19T05:07:51","slug":"what-is-ram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/what-is-ram\/","title":{"rendered":"What is RAM: A Complete Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>One of the components of a computer\u2019s overall architecture is its random access memory (RAM). What exactly does RAM do? This article takes a close look so you can be more familiar with why RAM exists and how it makes our lives better when working with our electronic devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are considering a career in tech, you need to know <a href=\"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/what-is-coding-used-for\/\">what coding is<\/a> and how it works. However, becoming familiar with the different components of computing architecture, such as RAM, is also essential. To learn more about what RAM is and why it exists, keep reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-where-is-ram-located\">Where is RAM located?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Random Access Memory is located in the Central Processing Unit (CPU). The CPU is a hardware made up of several components that make up the computer as a whole. RAM is considered the brains of the operation because it contains all of the readily accessible files, folders, and applications we use daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-does-ram-exist\">Why does RAM exist?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>RAM exists to act as a short-term computer memory bank. This allows users to access files quickly, keep folders open, or play games in detailed graphics. The more \u201cstuff\u201d you keep open regularly, the more RAM you will need on your computer.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having RAM shortens the access times to get to those folders you need. Having this short-term memory storage increases system performance.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-does-ram-compare-to-a-hard-drive\">How does RAM Compare to a Hard Drive?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of the hard drive as a long-term memory storage unit that takes some time to sort through. If we were to try to access the same files we do on RAM, but on the hard drive instead, our computer would run much slower.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the advent of SSD (solid state drives) the latency associated with hard disk drives has been reduced as we move away from electromagnetic access \u2014 where the drive has to read a physical object \u2014&nbsp; to electronic access. So the difference in performance between RAM and SSD might not be as perceptible as it was before its creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The RAM \u2014 random access memory \u2014 is the neurological wiring that makes your computer so quick. It has instant access to all of these short-term memories \u2014 files, directories, applications \u2014 that we keep open so they can be ready to go at a moment\u2019s notice.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The RAM is only one component of the overall unit that makes up the central processor. Next, check out the other architectural components of the computer: the ALU, the cache, the control unit, registers, and more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the components of a computer\u2019s overall architecture is its random access memory (RAM). What exactly does RAM do? This article takes a close look so you can be more familiar with why RAM exists and how it makes our lives better when working with our electronic devices. If you are considering a career&hellip;","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":27960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18070],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-software-engineering-skills"},"acf":{"post_sub_title":"","sprint_id":"","query_class":"What is a {technical term}","school_sft":"","parent_sft":"","school_privacy_policy":"","has_review":null,"is_sponser_post":"","is_guest_post":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is Random Access Memory (RAM)?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Random Access Memory helps to make a computer what it is. Take a look at this article by Career Karma to find out what RAM is, why we need it, and how it compares to other storage components of the computer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/what-is-ram\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is RAM: A Complete Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Random Access Memory helps to make a computer what it is. Take a look at this article by Career Karma to find out what RAM is, why we need it, and how it compares to other storage components of the computer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/what-is-ram\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Career Karma\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/careerkarmaapp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-05T21:12:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-19T05:07:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/kirill-VjxoEi9QIiw-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1020\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"679\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christina Kopecky\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@career_karma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@career_karma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christina Kopecky\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Christina Kopecky\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ae0cdc4a5d198690d78482646894074e\"},\"headline\":\"What is RAM: A Complete Guide\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-05T21:12:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-19T05:07:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":422,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/kirill-VjxoEi9QIiw-unsplash.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Software Engineering\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/\",\"name\":\"What is Random Access Memory (RAM)?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/what-is-ram\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/kirill-VjxoEi9QIiw-unsplash.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-05T21:12:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-19T05:07:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/careerkarma.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ae0cdc4a5d198690d78482646894074e\"},\"description\":\"Random Access Memory helps to make a computer what it is. 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