Table of Contents
- 1 Why is RAM size always a even number?
- 2 Why is memory size Ram always in power of 2?
- 3 Does RAM have to be even?
- 4 Why do computers use powers of 2?
- 5 Why does the memory of a computer have numbers in it?
- 6 Why does the memory size line up with the power of two?
- 7 What is the difference between a computer and a memory device?
Why is RAM size always a even number?
It is because the size of ram will be a multiple of the size of word size. Word size refers to the number of bits processed by CPU in one go. Typicaly it is 32 bit or 64 bit. so for making that fetch faster and smoothly the size of ram will be a multiple of word size which will always be an even number.
Why is memory size Ram always in power of 2?
Memory is closely tied to the CPU, so making their size a power of two means that multiple modules can be packed requiring a minimum of logic in order to switch between them; only a few bits from the end need to be checked (since the binary representation of the size is 1000…
Why does memory come in multiples of 8?
It is Because those numbers are powers of two. Computers address memory (and do everything else) with binary numbers. It makes sense to have memory in amounts that line up with powers of two because there’s no saving in address space if it doesn’t. That is, 7KB takes just as much address space as 8KB.
Does RAM have to be even?
There’s a prevailing misconception you cannot use different RAM sizes together or that you cannot mix RAM brands. Simply put, that’s not true. The answer is Yes, you can mix RAM sticks and RAM sizes and even different RAM speeds—but mixing and matching RAM modules isn’t the best for system performance.
Why do computers use powers of 2?
The reason is that you do not only use bytes to store numbers, but also to address memory bytes that store numbers (or even other addresses). With 1 Byte you have 256 possible addresses, so you can access 256 different bytes. Powers of 2 are used in most memory types, like RAM, flash drives/SSDs, cache memory.
Why are bits in powers of 2?
And just as the STRETCH needed to have a word that had a power of two size in bits to allow bits to be easily addressed, today’s computers needed to have a word that was a power-of-two multiple of 8 (which happens to be two to the third power itself) to allow characters to be easily addressed.
Why does the memory of a computer have numbers in it?
It is Because those numbers are powers of two. Computers address memory (and do everything else) with binary numbers. It makes sense to have memory in amounts that line up with powers of two because there’s no saving in address space if it doesn’t.
Why does the memory size line up with the power of two?
It is Because those numbers are powers of two. Computers address memory (and do everything else) with binary numbers. It makes sense to have memory in amounts that line up with powers of two because there’s no saving in address space if it doesn’t. That is, 7KB takes just as much address space as 8KB.
How does memory size depend on the number of address lines added?
Every address line added doubles the size of the storage. What this all means is that memory devices will always be based in sizes which are based on multiples of powers of two. Chip based memory will always be set in even sizes based on this, doubling in size for each new level of storage capacity.
What is the difference between a computer and a memory device?
Computers are binary math devices, and the memory address lines can only access memory in sizes which are a power of 2 in value. Memory chips in storage devices are built on binary address grids, so their sizes are forced by engineering to fit exactly into one of these sizes.