Memory Types

There are several different technologies when it comes to memory.

ROM
This is read-only memory, memory that can only be read, but cannot be written to. ROM is used in
situations where the data must be held permanently. This is due to the fact that it is non-volatile
memory. This means the data is "hard-wired" into the ROM chip. You can store the chip forever and
the data will always be there. Besides, the data is very secure. The BIOS is stored on ROM because
the user cannot disrupt the information.

There are different types of ROM, too:

• Programmable ROM(PROM). This is basically a blank ROM chip that can be written to,
but only once. It is much like a CD-R drive that burns the data into the CD. Some companies
use special machinery to write PROMs for special purposes.
• Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM). This is just like PROM, except that you can
erase the ROM by shining a special ultra-violet light into a sensor atop the ROM chip for a
certain amount of time. Doing this wipes the data out, allowing it to be rewritten.
• Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM). Also called flash BIOS. This
ROM can be rewritten through the use of a special software program. Flash BIOS operates this
way, allowing users to upgrade their BIOS.
ROM is slower than RAM, which is why some try to shadow it to increase speed.
RAM
Random Access Memory (RAM) is what most of us think of when we hear the word memory
associated with computers. It is volatile memory, meaning all data is lost when power is turned off.
The RAM is used for temporary storage of program data, allowing performance to be optimum.
Like ROM, there are different types of RAM:
• Static RAM (SRAM). This RAM will maintain it's data as long as power is provided to the
memory chips. It does not need to be re-written periodically. In fact, the only time the data
on the memory is refreshed or changed is when an actual write command is executed.
SRAM is very fast, but is much more expensive than DRAM. SRAM is often used as cache
memory due to its speed.
There are a few types of SRAM:
• Async SRAM. An older type of SRAM used in many PC's for L2 cache. It is
asynchronous, meaning that it works independently of the system clock. This
means that the CPU found itself waiting for info from the L2 cache.
• Sync SRAM. This type of SRAM is synchronous, meaning it is synchronized
with the system clock. While this speeds it up, it makes it rather expensive at the
same time.
• Pipeline Burst SRAM. Commonly used. SRAM requests are pipelined,
meaning larger packets of data re sent to the memory at once, and acted on very
 quickly. This breed of SRAM can operate at bus speeds higher than 66MHz, so
is often used.

• Dynamic RAM (DRAM). DRAM, unlike SRAM, must be continually re-written in order
for it to maintain its data. This is done by placing the memory on a refresh circuit that re-
writes the data several hundred time per second. DRAM is used for most system memory
because it is cheap and small.
There are several types of DRAM, complicating the memory scene even more:
• Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM). FPM DRAM is only slightly faster
than regular DRAM. Before there was EDO RAM, FPM RAM was the main
type used in PC's. It is pretty slow stuff, with an access time of 120 ns. It was
eventually tweaked to 60 ns, but FPM was still too slow to work on the 66MHz
system bus. For this reason, FPM RAM was replaced by EDO RAM. FPM RAM
is not much used today due to its slow speed, but is almost universally
supported.
• Extended Data Out DRAM (EDO DRAM). EDO memory incorporates yet
another tweak in the method of access. It allows one access to begin while
another is being completed. While this might sound ingenious, the performance
increase over FPM DRAM is only around 30%. EDO DRAM must be properly
supported by the chipset. EDO RAM comes on a SIMM. EDO RAM cannot
operate on a bus speed faster than 66MHz, so, with the increasing use of higher
bus speeds, EDO RAM has taken the path of FPM RAM.
• Burst EDO DRAM (BEDO DRAM). Original EDO RAM was too slow for the
newer systems coming out at the time. Therefore, a new method of memory
access had to be developed to speed up the memory. Bursting was the method
devised. This means that larger blocks of data were sent to the memory at a time,
and each "block" of data not only carried the memory address of the immediate
page, but info on the next several pages. Therefore, the next few accesses would
not experience any delays due to the preceding memory requests. This
technology increases EDO RAM speed up to around 10 ns, but it did not give it
the ability to operate stably at bus speeds over 66MHz. BEDO RAM was an
effort to make EDO RAM compete with SDRAM.
• Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM). SDRAM became the new standard after EDO
bit the dust. Its speed is synchronous, meaning that it is directly dependent on
the clock speed of the entire system. Standard SDRAM can handle higher bus
speeds. In theory, it could operate at up to 100MHz, although it was found that
many other variable factors went into whether or not it could stabily do so. The
actual speed capacity of the module depended on the actual memory chips as
well as design factors in the memory PCB itself.

Do get around the variability, Intel created the PC100 standard. The PC100
standard ensures compatibility of SDRAM subsystems with Intel's 100MHz FSB
processors. The new design, production, and test requirements created
challenges for semiconductor companies and memory module suppliers. Each
PC100 SDRAM module required key attributes to guarantee full compliance,
such as the use of 8ns DRAM components (chips) that are capable of operating
at 125MHz. This provided a margin of safety in ensuring that that the memory
module could run at PC100 speeds. Additionally, SDRAM chips must be used in
conjunction with a correctly programmed EEPROM on a properly designed
 printed circuit board. The shorter the distance the signal needs to travel, the
faster it runs. For this reason, there were additional layers of internal circuitry on
PC100 modules.

As PC speeds increased, the same problem was encountered for the 133 MHz
bus, so the PC133 standard was developed.
• RAMBus DRAM (RDRAM). Developed by Rambus, Inc. and endorsed by
Intel as the chosen successor to SDRAM. RDRAM narrows the memory bus to
16-bit and runs at up to 800 MHz. Since this narrow bus takes up less space on
the board, systems can get more speed by running multiple channels in parallel.
Despite the speed, RDRAM has had a tough time taking off in the market
because of compatibility and timing issues. Heat is also an issue, but RDRAM
has heatsinks to dissipate this. Cost is a major issue with RDRAM, with
manufacturers needing to make major facility changes to make it and the product
cost to consumers being too high for people to swallow.
• DDR-SDRAM. This type of memory is the natural evolution from SDRAM and
most manufacturers prefer this to Rambus because not much needs to be
changed to make it. Also, memory makers are free to manufacture it because it is
an open standard, whereas they would have to pay license fees to Rambus, Inc.
in order make RDRAM. DDR stands for Double Data Rate. DDR shuffles data
over the bus over both the rise and fall of the clock cycle, effectively doubling
the speed over that of standard SDRAM. Of course, chipset support is necessary.
DDR-DRAM is now the new standard in PC memory, with ever increasing
speed support coming out, even so that it can compete quite well up against
Rambus.