Desktop computer memory is one aspect of computing that has undergone many changes over the years. While the first computer systems required whole rooms to operate, current models have been reduced dramatically in size and performance has greatly risen. One of the main reasons for this change is because of computer memory. Newer desktop computer models often come with over 2 gigabytes of RAM storage and can be upgraded to even higher levels. Today’s computers memory comes in many different forms and ongoing research will provide newer and better ways to provide computing power to users.

Changes in memory type have been rapid as more effective systems of memory have been developed. Computer memory SDRAM, or dynamic random access memory, is one of the latest types to be released into the market. It has a synchronous interface, which translates to a synchronization between the computer’s CPU and memory. In this manner, the computer memory SDRAM is able to complete one task while at the same time receiving instructions for the next task. Further development of SDRAM has led to the creation of computer memory DDR2. Computer memory DDR2 works on the same principle as SDRAM, but includes some features that allow it to complete tasks even faster. Instead of only reading one word per data cycle, DDR2 reads four words per cycle, on the falling and rising edges of the clock signal. Also, the required voltage is less with DDR2, making it more energy efficient as well as having better performance. There is a slightly higher latency rate inherent with DDR2 as it runs at only half the clock rate of standard DDR.

Computers memory is one factor that will always continue to be improved as more resources are needed by the average user to run more complex programs and applications. Future memory types that are currently being developed address these needs. One such memory type is DDR4 memory. It is still being perfected and is expected to have a market release date sometime in the year 2012. These chips will have an even lower voltage rate than previous versions of DDR and will clock in at over two billion data transfers every second. Carbon nanotubes are another direction that memory may head. This would be a radical shift in memory usage. Nanoscale Random Access Memory, or NRAM, have one feature that could completely change how computers work: non-volatility. This term simply means that the memory is not lost when power is removed from the computer. In contemporary models, computers lose all the information that is in RAM when the computer is turned off. With NRAM, the processes could remain in the RAM, meaning that the startup of a computer would be instantaneously with no need for an actual boot-up process. It is changes like this one that will completely revolutionize how desktop computer memory is perceived.