DDR Memory

Double data rate random access memory, or DDR RAM, is a memory technology used for storage and high-speed retrieval of data on a computer. It builds on the now-obsolete Single Data Rate (SDR) synchronous dynamic random access memory, and enables the computer to achieve greater bandwidth by double-pumping data. That is, the transfer of information is doubly fast with a DDR RAM.

The more recent versions of DDR RAM are DDR2 and DDR3, which have faster memory bus signalling capabilities and clock frequencies. DDR2 operates at a clock frequency of over 400 MHz. The central powerhouse of your system operates faster and more efficiently on such improved memory circuitry, retrieving information faster and enabling you to run multiple applications.

It must be remembered that if you want to upgrade the memory of a computer that uses DDR1, you cannot buy a DDR2 module and use it to supplement a DDR1 chipset. The slots for DDR1, 2 and 3 are different. Some motherboards, however, have slots for all these DDR formats. The booklet on the motherboard should tell you how to install additional RAM on your computer. Sixty-four bit processors often support more than 3.5 GB of DDR RAM. A 64-bit Windows Vista system, for example, will support memory of up to 128GB.

A DDR RAM operates at a lower voltage than an SDR RAM, resulting in lower power consumption. Though it has the same architecture as an SDR RAM, a DDR RAM has 184 pins, instead of 168. It also has a single notch at the connector, not two. The bus width of DDR memory is 64 bits per channel. Most DDR-based chipsets come with matched pairs of modules and are made for processors that are 1GHz or faster.

What a DDR RAM does is, it performs twice as many operations as an SDR RAM per clock cycle. The advent of DDR RAM was hailed as a landmark development that revolutionized the technology of random access, or volatile memory, but recent developments that have resulted in revision of DDR models have been just as interesting. At the beginning of the millennium, aspersions were cast on the use of DDR memory in home PCs, but now, all those doubts are gone and one can hardly live without the reassuring pace and efficiency of a DDR RAM. A big difference in systemic performance, coupled with improved BIOS efficiency, is an undoubted result of the quantum leap from SDR to DDR.

Author: oempcworld

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