Mike Meyers’ CompTIA

A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

TYPES OF RAM
Chapter 6

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs TYPES OF RAM
Third Edition

• Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)

-type of random access semiconductor memory that
stores each bit of data in a separate tiny capacitor
within an integrated circuit. The capacitor can either
be charged or discharged; these two states are taken
to represent the two values of a bit, conventionally
called 0 and 1
• Static Random Access Memory (SRAM)
- a type of semiconductor memory that uses
bistable(an electronic circuit which has two stable
states) latching circuitry to store each bit. SRAM
exhibits data remanence(residual magnetism), but it
is still volatile in the conventional sense that data is
eventually lost when the memory is not powered

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

TYPES OF DRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Fast Page Model DRAM (FPM DRAM)

– a dynamic memory with the fast page access
which ensures a higher perfomance than the
conventional dynamic random access
memory

• Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM)

- is an early type of dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) chip which was designed to
improve the performance of fast page
mode DRAM (FPM DRAM) that was used in the
1990s.
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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

TYPES OF DRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Burst EDO DRAM (BEDO DRAM)

- new type of EDO DRAM that can process four
memory addresses in one burst can only stay
synchronized with the CPU clock for short
periods (bursts). Also, it can't keep up with
processors whose buses run faster than 66 MHz

• Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)

- is a generic name for various kinds of DRAM
that are synchronized with the clock speed that
the microprocessor is optimized for. This tends
to increase the number of instructions that the
processor can perform in a given time
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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

TYPES OF SDRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Single Data Rate SDRAM (SDR SDRAM)

- is slower than the DDR variants, because only one word
of data is transmitted per clock cycle (single data rate).
But this type is also faster than its predecessors EDO-
RAM and FPM-RAM which took typically two or three
clocks to transfer one word of data.
• Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM)
- The next generation of SDRAM is DDR, which achieves greater
bandwidth than the preceding SDR SDRAM by transferring data
on the rising and falling edges of the clock signal (double
pumped). Effectively, it doubles the transfer rate without
increasing the frequency of the clock. The transfer rate of DDR
SDRAM is the double of SDR SDRAM without changing the
internal clock. DDR SDRAM, as the first generation of DDR
memory, the prefetch buffer is 2bit, which is the double
of SDR SDRAM. The transfer rate of DDR is between 266~400
MT/s. DDR266 and DDR400 are of this type.
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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

TYPES OF SDRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Double Data Rate Two SDRAM (DDR2 SDRAM)

- Its primary benefit is the ability to operate the external data
bus twice as fast as DDR SDRAM. This is achieved by improved
bus signal. The prefetch buffer of DDR2 is 4 bit(double of DDR
SDRAM). DDR2 memory is at the same internal clock speed
(133~200MHz) as DDR, but the transfer rate of DDR2 can
reach 533~800 MT/s with the improved I/O bus signal. DDR2
533 and DDR2 800 memory types are on the market.
• Double Data Rate Three SDRAM (DDR3 SDRAM)
- memory reduces 40% power consumption compared to
current DDR2 modules, allowing for lower operating currents
and voltages (1.5 V, compared to DDR2's 1.8 V or DDR's 2.5
V). The transfer rate of DDR3 is 800~1600 MT/s. DDR3's
prefetch buffer width is 8 bit, whereas DDR2's is 4 bit, and
DDR's is 2 bit. DDR3 also adds two functions, such as ASR
(Automatic Self-Refresh) and SRT (Self-Refresh Temperature).
They can make the memory control the refresh rate according
to the temperature variation.
• The
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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

TYPES OF SDRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Double Data Rate 4 SDRAM (DDR4 SDRAM)

- provides the lower operating voltage (1.2V) and higher
transfer rate. The transfer rate of DDR4 is 2133~3200
MT/s. DDR4 adds four new Bank Groups technology.
Each bank group has the feature of singlehanded
operation. DDR4 can process 4 data within a clock cycle,
so DDR4's efficiency is better than DDR3 obviously.
DDR4 also adds some functions, such as DBI
(Data Bus Inversion), CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check)
and CA parity. They can enhance DDR4 memory's signal
integrity, and improve the stability of data
transmission/access.

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

TYPES OF SRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Asynchronous SRAM
- not dependent on the clock
frequency of the CPU
• Synchronous SRAM
- synchronizes with the CPU clock
speed. the address cannot change while
the write enable is active

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and DIMM
(Dual Inline Memory Module)
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• This is the standard for SDRAM

• The 168-pin DIMM was very popular for
desktops
• 144-pin SO-DIMMs (small outline) are
used in laptops

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

RDRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• RDRAM (Rambus DRAM) is a type of

RAM
– Speeds of up to 800 MHz
– Comes on sticks called RIMMs
– 184-pin for desktops and 160-pin SO-RIMM for
laptops
– Dual-channel architecture
– All slots must be populated: unused slots must
have a CRIMM (continuity RIMM)!

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and DDR SDRAM
Double Data Rate
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• DDR SDRAM doubles the throughput of

SDRAM
– 184-pin DIMM packages (desktops)
– 172-pin micro-DIMM and 200-pin SO-DIMM
packages (laptops)
– Wide range of speeds and naming conventions

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

DDR Speeds
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

Clock DDR Speed PC Speed Rating

Speed Rating
100 MHz DDR200 PC1600
133 MHz DDR266 PC2100
166 MHz DDR333 PC2700
200 MHz DDR400 PC3200
217 MHz DDR433 PC3500
233 MHz DDR466 PC3700
250 MHz DDR500 PC4000
275 MHz DDR550 PC4400
300 MHz DDR600 PC4800

• PC speed rating =
Clock speed × 2 (i.e., doubled) × 8 (i.e., 64-bit data
bus)
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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Dual-Channel Architecture
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Uses two sticks of RAM together to

increase throughput
• Works only with paired RAM sticks

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs DDR2 SDRAM
Third Edition

• Doubled the clock, increasing buffering

• Does not speed up core RAM, but just
the I/O
• 240-pin DIMM (not compatible with
DDR)

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

DDR2 Speeds
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

Clock DDR I/O DDR Speed PC Speed Rating

Speed Speed Rating

100 MHz 200 MHz DDR2-400 PC2-3200

133 MHz 266 MHz DDR2-533 PC2-4200
166 MHz 333 MHz DDR2-667 PC2-5300
200 MHz 400 MHz DDR2-800 PC2-6400
250 MHz 500 MHz DDR2-1000 PC2-8000

• PC speed rating =
Clock speed × 2 × 2 (i.e., doubled twice) × 8 (i.e., 64-
bit data bus)

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs DDR3
Third Edition

• Double the rate of DDR2

• 240-pin DIMM – not compatible with
DDR2 (as shown in the graphic)

DDR2 (top) and DDR3 (bottom) sticks

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs DDR3 Speeds
Third Edition

Clock DDR I/O DDR Speed PC Speed Rating

Speed Speed Rating

100 MHz 400 MHz DDR3-800 PC3-6400

133 MHz 533 MHz DDR3-1066 PC3-8500
166 MHz 667MHz DDR3-1333 PC3-10667
200 MHz 800 MHz DDR3-1600 PC3-12800

• PC speed rating =
Clock speed × 2 × 2 × 2 (i.e., doubled three times) × 8
(i.e., 64-bit data bus)

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs RAM Variations
Third Edition

• Double-sided sticks

• Latency

• Parity and error correction code

• Buffered/Registered

– Let's take a look at each one

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Double-Sided DIMMS
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Almost all sticks come as

single-sided or double-
sided
• Your motherboard may
or may not be able to
accept double-sided
sticks

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Latency
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Latency
– Measure of RAM response time
– Shown as CLx (x =2 - 9)
– Higher the number, the higher the latency
– Check motherboard manual for latency limits

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Parity and ECC

Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Parity is a rudimentary method of

checking the data to see if errors exist
– No error correction, just detection
• ECC (error correction code) is a special
type of RAM used by high-end systems
– Major advance in error checking on DRAM
– Can also correct many errors
– RAM sticks of any size can use the ECC DRAM, but
it is most common as 168-pin DIMMs
– A motherboard must be designed to use ECC to
take advantage of the ECC RAM

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Buffered/Registered DRAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Most motherboards support only four

sticks of RAM
– More than four sticks present challenges for
memory controllers
– To overcome these problems, buffering chips
are added
– Buffering chips as intermediary between RAM
and MCC

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Working with RAM

Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• What’s wrong with this picture?

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and Working with RAM
(continued)
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Avoid ESD damage

• Don’t touch pins or connectors directly

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Do You Need RAM?

Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Two symptoms point to needing more

RAM
– General system sluggishness, especially as more
programs are opened
– Disk thrashing or excessive hard drive accessing,
caused by excessive paging

Note: Disk thrashing can also be caused by disk

fragmentation

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

System RAM Recommendations

Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

Operating Reasonable Solid Power User

System Minimum Performance
Windows 128 MB 256 MB 512 MB
2000
Windows XP 256 MB 1 GB 2 GB

Windows 2 GB 4 GB 8 GB
Vista

• Actual minimum requirements are much lower

– Usually leads to slower computer and unhappy user

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and Determining Current RAM in
Windows XP
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• My Computer
Properties
– WINDOWS KEY-
PAUSE/BREAK key
• Task Manager
– CTRL-SHIFT-ESC

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and Determining Current RAM in
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition Windows Vista

• Same as XP
• Computer
Properties
– WINDOWS KEY-
PAUSE/BREAK key
• Task Manager
– CTRL-SHIFT-ESC

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Getting the Right RAM

Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Identify capacity
– What can the motherboard handle (look at the
manual)?
• Identify empty slots
– If all slots are filled, you’ll have to pull some out
– For example, pull out 256-MB sticks to add
512-MB sticks
• CPU-Z is a great tool to determine what
you have
– Also shows latency

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs Lab – Finding the Right RAM
Third Edition

• Upgrading RAM is the most common

hardware upgrade that people do—and
the easiest!

• You’ll need a motherboard manual and

access to the Internet to complete this
lab

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs Lab – RAM for the PC
Third Edition

1. Consult the motherboard manual to

determine type and amount of RAM the
system will support
2. Go to one or more of the following Web
sites to find the right RAM
– www.newegg.com
– www.tigerdirect.com
– www.frys.com
– www.bestbuy.com

• If you were going to upgrade the RAM,

who has the best price?

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Mix and Match at Your Peril

Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Mixing DRAM speeds can cause the

system to lock up, leading to data
corruption

• You can use faster DRAM than the

motherboard recommends, but you won’t
see an increase in performance

• You can put different speeds of DRAM in

different banks as long as they are both
faster than the speed specified

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Installing DIMMs
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Swing the side tabs away from upright

• Push the DIMM down somewhat hard…

the two tabs should move back into
place

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs Installing RAM Checklist
Third Edition

• Get the proper RAM

• Handle on edges only
• Don’t touch contacts
• Power down the PC and unplug it
• Flip latches open
• Align RAM groove with slot
• Insert RAM straight into slot

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs Inserting a DIMM
Third Edition

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs Lab – Your Turn (Installing RAM)
Third Edition

1. On your 5. Remove RAM

motherboard, remove
and install the RAM 6. Handle edges only
– The act of removing
and putting back the
RAM is called re-seating 7. Don’t touch contacts
the RAM
8. Align RAM groove
2. Unplug the PC with slot

3. Take appropriate ESD 9. Insert RAM straight

precautions into slot

4. Flip latches open

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Serial Presence Detect

Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Serial presence detect (SPD)

– Reports the size, speed, data width, and voltage of
the installed RAM
– MCC knows what to do
– CPU-Z shows SPD data

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs The RAM Count
Third Edition

• Shows at boot
• Counts addressable RAM and reports it
• Remember the subtle differences between
counting in binary and decimal--
512 MB does not equal 512 million exactly

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and Installing SO-DIMMs
in Laptops
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Make sure the system

is off
– No AC connection
– Remove all batteries
• Remove the panel or
lift the keyboard
• Slide the pins into
position and then
snap the SO-DIMM
down into the
retaining clips

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Memory Errors
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Appear as
– Parity errors, ECC error messages, system lockups,
page faults, and BSoD
• Real memory errors
– “Parity error at xxxxx”
– If xxxxx is consistently the same, you have a bad
RAM stick.
• Phantom errors
– Random memory addresses
– Due to power issues, dust, and heat
• Page fault

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs Non-Maskable Interrupt
Third Edition

• Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)

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 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to

Testing RAM
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

• Hardware RAM testing devices can be

used to troubleshoot errors

• Memtest86 is a freeware tool that can be

used to test RAM

• Vista comes with a memory testing

utility on the install disc

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

 Mike Meyers’ CompTIA
A+® Guide to
Managing and
Troubleshooting PCs
Third Edition

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved