COMPUTER HARDWARE COMPONENTS FUNCTIONS
COMPUTER MEMORY AND PROCESSING DEVICES
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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It is used as a fast type of memory for programs currently in use to speed up the performance of a computer.
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When several programs run at the same time, the RAM can be full. Instead of closing programs the Operating system uses virtual memory to store some data.
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Either A or B
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -Virtual memory was developed at a time when physical memory–also referenced as RAM–was expensive. Computers have a finite amount of RAM, so memory will eventually run out when multiple programs run at the same time. A system using virtual memory uses a section of the hard drive to emulate RAM.
Detailed explanation-2: -Virtual memory enables data that is in RAM and not currently being used to be transferred to the hard disk. This frees up room in RAM for other programs and data. When the data on the hard disk is needed again, any other unused data is transferred to the hard disk before the original data is transferred back to RAM.
Detailed explanation-3: -If there were no such thing as virtual memory, then once you filled up the available RAM your computer would have to say, “Sorry, you can not load any more applications.
Detailed explanation-4: -For these reasons, most computers use their physical memory system-their RAM-to maintain their processing speed before using their virtual memory system. The computer only uses its virtual memory when it runs out of RAM for storage.
Detailed explanation-5: -While you may add virtual memory because it is less expensive, adding the physical RAM is a more preferred solution, as the processor can access data faster from RAM than from a hard drive. RAM affects your computer’s performance by determining the memory capacity and the memory speed.