A RAM Primer
SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM)
Resources galore are being poured into SDRAM development, and it has begun making its appearance in the PC ads. The reason for its increasing popularity is twofold. First, SDRAM can handle bus speeds of up to 100 MHz, and these are fast approaching. Second, SDRAM is synchronized with the system clock itself, a technical feat that has eluded PC engineers until now. SDRAM technology allows two pages of memory to be opened simultaneously. A new standard for SDRAM is being developed by the SCIzzL Association at Santa Clara University (California) along with many industry leaders. Called SLDRAM, this technology improves on SDRAM by offering a higher bus speed and by using packets (small packs of data) to take care of address requests, timing, and commands to the DRAM. The result is less reliance on improvements in DRAM chip design, and ideally a lower-cost solution for high-performance memory. Watch for SLDRAM in the near future.
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Published as Tutor in the 10/21/97 issue of PC Magazine.
