An Overview of Memory

Professor Messer | May 06, 2008 | Comments 11


We know that memory is one of the most critical resources in our computer, but how does it really work? In this video, we’ll look at the fundamentals of memory operation and learn about memory transfer rates, throughput speeds, latency, read-only memory, and the differences between single-sided and double-sided memory.


Filed Under: CompTIA A+ Videos

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  • Thom Holland

    I am now confused. In your video, you say that the term single & double sided DIMMs does not refer to the physical layout of the DIMM, but in Michael Meyers book it clearly states that it does; that single sided DIMMs have chips on one side & double sided have chips on both sides.

    • http://www.ProfessorMesser.com Professor Messer

      Thom -

      I’ve also seen the one-side/two-side explanation in many books, but the Intel documentation is in direct contradiction to those books. It’s possible that the definition of single-sided and double-sided has different meanings, but I’m open to examine other industry documentation if you send me the links.

      • Aneeqsterman

        Would you be able to check with CompTIA and see what they say?

    • boubacar kone

      I think that professor Messer is totally right. Check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_sided/double_sided

  • scrappy2

    intresting, i curious to see if the 2 sided or single sided issue will be on the test. anyways very informative.

  • Lolo

    Thank you so much for the clear explanation of RAM and the different types of it. I recently purchased some RAM for my computer which turned out to be the wrong one, because I needed RAM that supports a server, I thought my research was enough but now that I’ve watched your video, I know extactly what I need (and why)for my system.

  • Jun

    It’s a very very good module. Excellent! Thanks a million for this.

    More power to you prof.

  • Adam

    I’ve been studying the A+ for a couple of months now and according to the Skillport site which is where I have been studying my course aswell it states that single and double sided RAM has nothing to do with the physical appearance of the chips on the memory module so I am going to take this as correct.

    • http://www.ProfessorMesser.com Professor Messer

      There seem to be just as many sources that have conflicting definitions of single-sided and double-sided memory. Some sources define double-sided memory as memory that has two “ranks,” and other sources define double-sided memory as the physical layout of the chips (on both sides). I would be ready for either definition. It’s unlikely that the answer on the CompTIA A+ exam would have you decide between these two definitions!

  • Roger Pelegrin

    Thanks again Mr. Messer for this module. I’m using Mike Meyers’s book along with your videos and it really helps to solidify the information in my brain.
    Thanks a million

  • Atheist

    Professor Messer knows all. Please do not challenge him – this is not good.