Primary Storage

• Also known as main memory.

• Main memory is directly or indirectly connected to the central processing

unit via a memory bus.

• The main memory has the storage section that holds the computer
programs during execution. Thus the primary unit:

 Stores data and programs during actual processing

 Stores temporary results of intermediate processing
 Stores results of execution temporarily

Primary storage devices are internal to the system and are the fastest of
the memory/storage device category. Typically, primary storage devices
have an instance of all the data and applications currently in use or being
processed.

 Characteristics of Primary Storage

 It is a volatile memory.
 This memory is made of semiconductors technology.
 Data is automatically deleted in the event of power failure.
 This is the main working memory of the computer.
 A computer is not able to process without primary memory.

-Primary storage is located on the motherboard. As a result, data can be

read from and written to primary storage extremely quickly. This gives the
processor fast access to the data and instructions that the primary storage
holds.
-Primary storage is comparatively limited in size, especially when
compared with secondary storage. In a modern personal computer, primary
storage is often around 4 GB in size.
-The two main types of primary storage are ROM, which is non-volatile, and
RAM, which is volatile.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

Random access memory (RAM) is volatile primary storage. Once the
computer is switched off the data and instructions held in RAM are lost.
RAM is given the term ‘random access’ because data and instructions can
be stored and accessed from any location within the memory).

Characteristics of RAM:
 RAM is Volatile Memory i.e temporary memory.
 The storage of RAM is usually low as compared to secondary
memory.
 RAM is much faster and Expensive than Secondary Memory.
 All programs, Applications, Games, Graphics, and Instruction
processes through RAM Memory.
 RAM memory important component of CPU.

Two main types of RAM:

 Direct Random Access Memory (DRAM)
 Static random-access memory (SRAM)
Direct Random Access Memory
 Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a type of random-
access memory used in computing devices (primarily PCs). DRAM
stores each bit of data in a separate passive electronic component
that is inside an integrated circuit board.
Common types of DRAM
 Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) “synchronizes” the memory speed
with CPU clock speed so that the memory controller knows the exact
clock cycle when the requested data will be ready. This allows the
CPU to perform more instructions at a given time. Typical SDRAM
transfers data at speeds up to 133 MHz.

 Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) takes its name after the company that
made it, Rambus. It was popular in the early 2000s and was mainly
used for video game devices and graphics cards, with transfer
speeds up to 1 GHz.

 Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM) is a type of synchronous

memory that nearly doubles the bandwidth of a single data rate
(SDR) SDRAM running at the same clock frequency by employing a
method called "double pumping," which allows transfer of data on
both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal without any
increase in clock frequency.

Static random-access memory (SRAM)

  is made up of four to six transistors. It keeps data in the memory as
long as power is supplied to the system unlike DRAM, which has to
be refreshed periodically. As such, SRAM is faster but also more
expensive, making DRAM the more prevalent memory in computer
systems.

References:

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13097/primary-storage-device

https://digitalworld839.com/what-is-primary-memory-of-computer-
examples/

https://www.electronics-
notes.com/articles/electronic_components/semiconductor-ic-
memory/dynamic-ram-dram-technology.php

https://www.electronics-
notes.com/articles/electronic_components/semiconductor-ic-memory/static-
ram-sram.php

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/static-random-
access-memory

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2770/dynamic-random-access-
memory-dram