COMPUTER ORGANISATION AND

ARCHITECTURE

MEMORY HIERARCY.

1
Lecture Objectives
 Understanding Computer Memory
 Memory hierarchy
 Memory X-tics
 Types of memory

2
 Memory Hierarchy

i. Overview of Memory: Limiting factor of a computer is

memory Access time.
ii. Major objective of memory: Provide adequate storage
capacity:
iii. Memory Hierarchy:(Cost per bit, Capacity , Access time)
iv. Characteristics of the memory Hierarchy. (i.consists
of distinct levels, Each level characterized by its size, access time, and cost per
bit)
v. Internal Memory & External memory
vi)Description of each of these memory stated
above

3
 Memory Hierarchy – Cont’d

vii) Memory Classification Tree

Review Qn
SRAM DRAM
Usage
Speed
COST
Power
consumption

END 4
Memory Hierarchy
 Major design objective of any memory system

 To provide adequate storage capacity at

-An acceptable level of performance

-At a reasonable cost

5
 Overview

 Memory is one of the essential component of a computer .

 Historically, the limiting factor in a computer’s performance
has been memory access time. Ie is how long it takes for a
character in memory to be transferred to or from the CPU.

 Memory speed has been slow compared to the speed of the

processor.
 A process could be bottlenecked by the memory system’s
inability to “keep up” with the processor.

 Our goal in this section is to study the development of an

effective memory organization that supports the
processing power of the CPU
 6
 Memory Hierarchy
Cost/
Access rate
bit Processor
Registers

Cache Memory

Main Memory

Flash/ USB memory

Hard Drives

Tape Backup

7
Going Down the Hierarchy
• Decreasing cost per bit
• Increasing capacity. (The number of bytes
(characters) a storage medium can hold).

• Slower access time ( Time it takes to perform a read

or write operation. That is the time from the instant that an
address is presented to memory to the instant that data has
been stored )

8
i)Internal : Processor registers, Cache. Directly
accessible by the processor.

ii) Main : System Ram.

iii) Online Mass Storage: Secondary Storage. For

example Hard Disk

iv) Offline Bulk Storage:Offline Storage.

( Backup Tapes )
9
Characteristics of the memory
hierarchy
 Consists of distinct “levels” of memory
components.
 Each level characterized by its size, access time,
and cost per bit
 As one goes down the hierarchy, the following
occur:
1. Decreasing cost per bit
2. Increasing capacity
3. Decreasing access time( Time it takes to
perform a read or write operation. That is the
time from the instant that an address is
presented to memory to the instant that data
has been stored )
10
 Hierarchy List

 Registers(A, special high-speed storage area

within the CPU. All data must be represented
in a register before it can be processed. For
example, if two numbers are to be multiplied,
both numbers must be in registers, and the
result is also placed in a register..

11
 Cache memory

 Small amount of fast memory that contains a copy of

portions of main memory.
 Sits between normal main memory and CPU
 May be located on CPU chip or module
 When the processor attempts to read a word from
memory
 The microprocessor first checks the cache memory and if it
finds the data there (from a previous reading of data), it does
not have to do the more time-consuming reading of data from
larger memory.

12
Cache Memory
 Cache memory is intended to give memory
speed approaching that of the fastest memory
available. (CPU registers)

 Compared to the size of main memory, cache

is relatively small.
 Very expensive compared to main memory
 Cache contains copies of sections of main
memory

13
 Memory Classification

According to Volatility:
RAM
ROM

According to Technology:
Static RAM
Dynamic RAM

14
RAM/ROM

• Memory is either Read/Write (Volatile) or

Read only (Non-Volatile)

• ROM – Read Only Memory

– Mostly used for installation into toys or
appliances
– Programmed once although there are
exceptions
• PROM/EPROM

15
Main Memory
• There are has two kinds of memory:
– Random-access memory (RAM)
– and Read-only memory (ROM).

16
 Random Access Memory

• A temporary holding place for data and

instructions. Consists of one or more chips on the
motherboard. Sometimes called primary storage

• RAM is not a permanent storage place for information.

• It is active only when computer is on.

• If computer is switched off, the information is deleted from

RAM.

17
 ROM . Read Only Memory
• ROM is the memory where information is only read.
• When the computer is turned off, information is not
deleted from ROM.

• Writing information to ROM is made by vendor.

• ROM – Read Only Memory
– Mostly used for installation into toys or appliances
– Programmed once although there are exceptions
• PROM/EPROM

18
 FEATURES OF RAM.
 The distinguishing feature is that RAM is
volatile. RAM must be provided with a constant
power supply. If power is interrupted, then the
data is lost.
 The other distinguishing feature of RAM is that
it is possible both to read data from the
memory and to write new data into the
memory easily and rapidly. Both the reading
and writing are accomplished through the use
of electrical signals.
19
Dynamic RAM
 The term dynamic refers to this tendency of
the stored charge to leak away even with
power continuously applied.

 Needs refreshing even when powered

 The presence and absence of charge on a
capacitor is interpreted as a binary 1 or 0.
 Because capacitors have a natural tendency to
discharge, DRAM requires periodic charge
refreshing to maintain data storage.

20
Characteristics of DRAM
 Simpler construction
 Less expensive
 Need to refresh circuits
 Slower.
 Used for Main memory

21
Static RAM and its characteristics
 Bits stored as on/off switches (to be looked at
when we get to logic gates)
 No charges to leak
 No refreshing needed when powered
 More complex construction
 More expensive
 Faster
 Used for Cache.

22
Read Only Memory (ROM)
 As the name suggests Read-only memory
contains a permanent pattern of data that
cannot be changed. Data is “wired in” during fabrication at
a chip manufacturer’s plant .
 It is nonvolatile - no power source is
required to maintain data
 It is possible to read from ROM but it is not
possible to write new data into it.
ASSIGNMENT
What do you think are some of the
advantages and drawbacks
(disadvantages/shortcomings) associated
with ROM?
23
Types of ROM
• Read “mostly”
– Erasable Programmable (EPROM)
• Erased by UV
– Electrically Erasable (EEPROM)
• Takes much longer to write than read

24
Types of ROM
 Programmable ROM (PROM)
 Data can be programmed/written once by
the user employing a PROM programmer.
 Writing process is performed electrically and
may be performed by a supplier.

 Used to store programs permanently.

Normally in video game controllers, mobile
phones and the programming is done after
the device is constructed.

25
 Read-Mostly memory
Useful for applications in which read operations are
far more frequent than write operations but for which
nonvolatile storage is required.

Three common forms of read-mostly memory.

 Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM)
 Read and written electrically as with PROM
 However, before a write operation. All storage cells
must be erased at the same initial stage by
exposure to ultraviolet radiation
 Erased by intense ultraviolet light, that is shone
through a window designed like a memory chip.
Erasure process can take 20 minutes.
 More expensive than PROM but has an advantage of
multiple update capability
26
 Electrically Erasable Programmable
ROM (EEPROM)
 Can be written into at any time without
erasing prior contents, only the data
addressed is updated
 Takes much longer to write than read
 Nonvolatile and flexible.
 EEPROM is more expensive than EPROM
and is less dense, supporting fewer bits per
chip

27
 Flash memory
This is a non volatile computer storage that can be
electrically erased and reprogrammed. This technology is
used in memory cards and USB flash drives
 It is a special type of EEPROM( electrically
Erasable Programmable Read only Memory) that
is erased and programmed.
 It is Non-Volatile , no power is needed to
maintain information.
 Memory erased electrically in a few seconds

28
Goal of the memory
hierarchy

 Try to match the processor speed with

the rate of information transfer from
the lowest element in the hierarchy.

29