RAM Memory Types

MHz to ns
 The speed and performance issue with memory
is confusing to some because memory speed is
usually expressed in ns (nanoseconds) and
processor speed has always been expressed in
MHz (megahertz).
 Fortunately, you can translate one to the other.
 To convert access time in nanoseconds to MHz,
use the following formula:
 1 / nanoseconds × 1000 = MHz
 Likewise, to convert from MHz to nanoseconds,
use the following inverse formula:
 1 / MHz × 1000 = nanoseconds
 Fast Page Mode DRAM
 DRAM is accessed through a technique called paging.
 Paging enables faster access to all the data within a
given row of memory by keeping the row address the
same and changing only the column.
 Memory that uses this technique is called Page Mode
or Fast Page Mode memory.
 Paged memory is a simple scheme for improving
memory performance that divides memory into pages
ranging from 512 bytes to a few kilobytes long.
 To improve further on memory access speeds,
systems have evolved to enable faster access to
DRAM.
 One important change was the implementation of
burst mode access in the 486 and later processors.
Burst Mode
 Burst mode cycling takes advantage of the
consecutive nature of most memory accesses.
 After setting up the row and column addresses for
a given access, using burst mode, you can then
access the next three adjacent addresses with no
additional latency or wait states.
 A typical burst mode access of standard DRAM is
expressed as x-y-y-y; x is the time for the first
access (latency plus cycle time), and y represents
the number of cycles required for each
consecutive access.
 DRAM memory that supports paging and this
bursting technique is called Fast Page Mode
(FPM) memory.
 Most 486 and Pentium systems from 1995 and
earlier use FPM memory.
 Interleaving
 Another technique for speeding up FPM memory
was called interleaving.
 In this design, two separate banks of memory are
used together, alternating access from one to the
other as even and odd bytes.
 While one is being accessed, the other is being
precharged. Then, by the time the first bank in the
pair is finished returning data, the second bank is
now ready to return data.
 This overlapping of accesses in two banks reduces
the effect of the latency or precharge cycles and
allows for faster overall data retrieval.
 The only problem is that to use interleaving, you
must install identical pairs of banks together,
doubling the amount of SIMMs or DIMMs required.
 FPM RAM
 FPM RAM Module is 30 pin, 8-bits wide.
 Extended Data Out RAM
 In 1995, a newer type of memory called extended
data out (EDO) RAM became available for Pentium
systems.
 EDO, a modified form of FPM memory, is sometimes
referred to as Hyper Page mode.
 The name extended data out refers specifically to
the fact that unlike FPM, the data output drivers on
the chip are not turned off when the memory
controller removes the column address to begin the
next cycle.
 This enables the next cycle to overlap the previous
one, saving approximately 10ns per cycle.
 EDO RAM allows for burst mode cycling of 5-2-2-2,
compared to the 5-3-3-3 of standard fast page mode
memory.
 With EDO you didn’t need to install two identical
banks of memory in the system at a time.
 EDO RAM
 EDO RAM generally comes in 72-pin SIMM form, and it is 32-bit
wide.
 EDO RAM is ideal for systems with bus speeds of up to 66MHz,
which fit perfectly with the PC market up through 1997.
 SDRAM
 SDRAM is short for synchronous DRAM, a type of
DRAM that runs in synchronization with the memory
bus.
 SDRAM delivers information in very high-speed
bursts using a high-speed, clocked interface.
 SDRAM removes most of the latency involved in
asynchronous DRAM because the signals are already
in synchronization with the motherboard clock.
 SDRAM timing for a burst access would be 5-1-1-1,
meaning that four memory reads would complete in
only eight system bus cycles, compared to eleven
cycles for EDO and fourteen cycles for FPM.
 Besides being capable of working in fewer cycles,
SDRAM is also capable of supporting up to 133MHz
(7.5ns) system bus cycling.
 As such, most new PC systems sold in 1998, and
through 2000, have included SDRAM memory.
SDRAM Module
DDR SDRAM
 Double data rate (DDR) SDRAM memory is an
evolutionary design of standard SDRAM in which
data is transferred twice as quickly.
 Instead of doubling the actual clock rate, DDR
memory achieves the doubling in performance by
transferring twice per transfer cycle.
 DDR found most of its initial support in the
graphics card market and since then has become
the mainstream PC memory standard.
 DDR SDRAM uses a new DIMM module design
with 184 pins.
DDR Module
DDR2
 DDR2 SDRAM is simply a faster version of conventional DDR-
SDRAM memory: It achieves higher throughput by using
differential pairs of signal wires to allow faster signaling
without noise and interference problems.
 DDR2 is still double data rate just as with DDR, but the
modified signaling method enables higher speeds to be
achieved with more immunity to noise and cross-talk
between the signals.
 The additional signals required for differential pairs add to the
pin countDDR2 DIMMs have 240 pins, which is more than the
184 pins of DDR. The original DDR specification tops out at
400MHz, whereas DDR2 starts at 400MHz and goes up to
1000MHz and beyond.
 In addition to providing greater speeds and bandwidth, DDR2
has other advantages. It uses lower voltage than
conventional DDR (1.8V versus 2.5V), so power consumption
and heat generation are reduced.
 DDR2 DIMMs resemble conventional DDR DIMMs but have
more pins and slightly different notches to prevent confusion
or improper application.
 DDR2 SDRAM Module Types and
Bandwidths

Module Module Chip Clock Speed Cycles per Bus Speed Bus Width Transfer Rate
Standard Format Type (MHz) Clock (MT/s) (Bytes) (MBps)
PC2-3200 DDR2 DDR2- 200 2 400 8 3,200
DIMM 400
PC2-4200 DDR2 DDR2- 266 2 533 8 4,266
DIMM 533
PC2-5300 DDR2 DDR2- 333 2 667 8 5,333
DIMM 667
PC2-6000 DDR2 DDR2- 375 2 750 8 6,000
DIMM 750
PC2-6400 DDR2 DDR2- 400 2 800 8 6,400
DIMM 800
PC2-7200 DDR2 DDR2- 450 2 900 8 7,200
DIMM 900
PC2-8000 DDR2 DDR2- 500 2 1000 8 8,000
DIMM 1000
 RDRAM
 Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) is a fairly radical memory
design found in high-end PC systems starting in late
1999.
 Conventional memory systems that use FPM/EDO or
SDRAM are known as wide-channel systems. They have
memory channels as wide as the processor’s data bus,
which for the Pentium and up is 64 bits.
 RDRAMs, on the other hand, are narrow-channel
devices. They transfer data only 16 bits (2 bytes) at a
time (plus 2 optional parity bits), but at much faster
speeds.
 This is a shift away from a more parallel to a more
serial design and is similar to what is happening with
other evolving buses in the PC.
 16-bit single channel RIMMs originally ran at 800MHz,
so the overall throughput is 800×2, or 1.6GB per
second for a single channel—the same as PC1600 DDR
SDRAM.
 RDRAM Types
 Newer RIMM versions run at 1066MHz or 1200MHz in addition to
the original 800MHz rate and are available in single-channel, 16-
bit versions as well as multiple-channel, 32-bit and 64-bit
versions for throughputs up to 9.6GB/sec per module.
 RDRAM Module
 The main consideration for memory is that the throughput of the
memory bus should match the throughput of the processor bus,
and in that area RDRAM RIMMs are much more suited to the faster
Intel Pentium 4 processor systems.
Review
1. What is burst mode and interleaving?
2. Convert 266MHz to ns and 6ns to MHz.
3. Know the shape and pins of FPM, EDO,
SDRAM, DDR and RDRAM modules.
4. Distinguish the different speeds and data
width of each module.
5. If you have 100MHz SDRAM, which
module would you buy – 133MHz
SDRAM or 66MHz SDRAM?