RAM vs Performance

Random Access Memory can be simplify as RAM is what we will encounter when we buy computer, smart phone, and all other smart devices. In the early computing day, there is only few kilobyte of ram is being use. With the grow in need for a faster and powerful computer, and with the emerge of more demanding operating system and software in hardware requirement, ram has then become one of the parts that being develop tremendously along side with Central Processing Unit (CPU).

RAM is a L3 memory that can be accessed and be used by the CPU to store large quantity of information that is needed to be read and write multiple time inside the operation system and software that we run on our equipment. This L3 memory provide fast read and write speed with many times faster when compare to using virtual memory on our hard disk. Hence the speed of the RAM we use will affect our CPU working load, as slower speed RAM will required more time to read and write into, and little time is needed for a fast speed RAM.

The amount of RAM needed for a smooth run on our equipment is not specify. This is because the OS that we put running on our device, and program or software that we gonna use will need to take into account before we can estimate how much RAM that is enough for a smooth run.

For example, a typical machine built using a Windows 7, we can use the recommended specification Microsoft provided to us, that is:
- 1 GHz or faster x86 or x64 processor
- 1 GB RAM
- 16 GB Hdd
- DirectX 9 graphic with WDDM 1.0 or higher

Seeing the highlight on the RAM minimum requirement, just a 1 GB can already be used on a typical Windows 7 for the OS to run. But that didn't mean the OS will run smoothly, and that haven't include all the software that we gonna put into.

So is it mean that more RAM will make the equipment perform faster and smoother? The answer is No for faster, and Yes for smoother.

For a faster equipment, it all depend on what is the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is being use on the machine. The higher the clock (Hz), the faster it will process the information. But there will be a bottleneck If the RAM is not enough for the CPU to perform at its best. Here is when RAM will required for a smoother operation of the machine.

When a machine have a fast CPU, but very little RAM, the performance of the machine will become sluggish, as the machine need to execute all the information store in the little RAM before a new information need to rewrite into the RAM, just then the CPU can process the new information. This will make the fast CPU have a bottleneck where there is not enough memory to store all the information needed for its task. It just like we are doing something and then we need to take a break and resume what we do again after the break.

The RAM bottleneck cannot say that the machine is not fast. It just not smooth when run all the task at once. So by adding more RAM will make the machine perform at its greatest performance as the bottleneck cause by not enough RAM is gone.

Here i can conclude that, RAM is needed for a smooth operating, but it cannot make the process become faster or slower, as the fast and slow operation is all depend on the CPU. So more RAM is good as we will have a smooth running equipment, but if the job we gonna perform cannot be handle by the CPU, then the machine will also become sluggish as there is not enough computing power to process all the information in time.

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