SDRAM Computer Memory - The Most Popular

Sdram computer memory has been on an upward trend ever since the late 90s. Synchronous DRAM has been on the market for about 6 years now and most Pentium IV computers have been equipped with this type of memory.

SDRAM computer memory replaces most of the DDR memory modules as of 2000 although there were still some P4s that were equipped with DDR technology.

The demand of software and multimedia applications required more performance from the RAM memory industry and thus the apparition of the SDRAM computer memory module.

Even the new windows XP versions required more intense RAM memory application and SDRAM computer memory seemed to fulfill these needs best at the lowest possible price.

Today SDRAM computer memory can be found in 1Gb versions and even all the way up to 4GB. Synchronous DRAM is RAM that has been synchronized to the system clock which also controls the CPU of the machine. This clock then controls both the CPU and de SDRAM memory and the synchronization lets the memory controller know when the data requests will be available according to the system clock.

This in essence allows SDRAM computer memory to perform more than one action more quickly and lets the information be available at the end of one clock cycle instead of two. Not only that but SDRAM memory also has several memory banks that can work at the same time, which means that you can perform several functions at the same time.

Most computers today use SDRAM computer memory and it has become standard for most systems. So if you have a computer that is just a couple of years old and you want to upgrade memory, chances are that you have SDRAM memory, of course you don't want to just assume that, you will need to check to be sure.

Althoug SDRAM works faster because it is synchronized with the system clock it is limited by the computer bus. So when you decide to change your computer memory you need to know what your computer bus speed is.

If for instance the bus speed is 100 Mhz and you buy SDRAM with a bus speed of 133Mhz the 33Mhz is wasted and may even cause incompatibility in your machine.

SDRAM computer memory comes in PC66, PC100 , PC133 and PC200 which refers to the system bus speed. So if the system runs at 100MHz an you buy SDRAM at 6Mhz then your memory wont operate as quickly as if you had bough a PC100.

If you are still unsure about the bus speed your system has, you can find that information in your computer manual, or by opening the case and looking at the sticker that is adhered to the existing memory. You will find the brand of memory the amount of memory and the bus speed because it will say PC66, PC100, etc. You can then use that information to order additional memory for your computer.

Computer Memory