A random-access memory device allows data items to be read or written in almost the same amount of time irrespective of the physical location of data inside the memory, in contrast with other direct-access data storage media (such as hard disks and magnetic tape), where the time required to read and write data items varies significantly depending on their physical locations on the recording medium, due to mechanical limitations such as media rotation speeds and arm movement.
The i-RAM was a PCI card-mounted, battery-backed RAM disk that behaved and was marketed as a solid-state storage device. It was produced by Gigabyte and released in June 2005, at a time when genuine solid-state storage solutions were generally still less affordable than an i-RAM product with superficially similar capabilities. The i-RAM utilised DRAM, a type of volatile memory, and was equipped with a lithium-ion battery to provide backup power.
Well, could it be considered random access memory?
Not really, a bit further down in the Wiki article it says:
RAM is normally associated with volatile types of memory where stored information is lost if power is removed.
Which is not really the case for SSDs (except for cached data that hasn’t been written yet). That said, yes you can use a SSD as RAM through pagefiles, swap partitions, or whatever, but the same is true for a HDD. So in the context of where to install an OS it’s a rather irrelevant detail. SSDs are power cycle persistent storage.
Its not ‘special kind’. Flash memory is a type of nvram. It was a test to see if you would catch on. Theres also neat things like phase change RAM, aka DVD-RAM.
Well it’s special in the sense that opposed to the most common kind of RAM, DRAM and SRAM, it has non volatile storage. Which is why it’s referred to as NVRAM instead of simply RAM. Saying RAM usually implies volatile storage in a PC, certainly does in the context of an OS install on a HDD and SSD, and in that context a SSD isn’t RAM. Yes there are minutiae to the terminology, but I don’t see how that’s relevant here.
Its relevant because its primary use doesnt change how the memory is accessed. The only reason NVRAM doesnt see use as primary system ram is that they are much slower and many types have limited write cycles making them unsuitable for the job.
In the context of setting up a PC a SSD is a drive, not RAM. You couldn’t pull out your RAM DIMMs and just run on your NVME/SATA SSD as RAM instead (unless your CPU/MB support that which to my knowledge isn’t common). I’m not saying that flash memory isn’t random access memory in the general sense of the word, I’m saying that when talking about a PC specifically RAM refers to special memory the motherboard makes directly available to the CPU, and a SSD isn’t that.
Well, could it be considered random access memory? I couldn’t really find a clear answer, mostly opinions.
Wikipedia says:
So maybe?
Although that’s basically the other end of “SSD is RAM”.
You could also install the OS to a RAMdisk.
Gigabyte even made some physical ones in the past.
Not really, a bit further down in the Wiki article it says:
Which is not really the case for SSDs (except for cached data that hasn’t been written yet). That said, yes you can use a SSD as RAM through pagefiles, swap partitions, or whatever, but the same is true for a HDD. So in the context of where to install an OS it’s a rather irrelevant detail. SSDs are power cycle persistent storage.
What is ‘NVRAM’ then?
A special kind of RAM that is power cycle persistent but has other downsides and thus didn’t really have success on the PC market?
Its not ‘special kind’. Flash memory is a type of nvram. It was a test to see if you would catch on. Theres also neat things like phase change RAM, aka DVD-RAM.
Well it’s special in the sense that opposed to the most common kind of RAM, DRAM and SRAM, it has non volatile storage. Which is why it’s referred to as NVRAM instead of simply RAM. Saying RAM usually implies volatile storage in a PC, certainly does in the context of an OS install on a HDD and SSD, and in that context a SSD isn’t RAM. Yes there are minutiae to the terminology, but I don’t see how that’s relevant here.
Its relevant because its primary use doesnt change how the memory is accessed. The only reason NVRAM doesnt see use as primary system ram is that they are much slower and many types have limited write cycles making them unsuitable for the job.
In the context of setting up a PC a SSD is a drive, not RAM. You couldn’t pull out your RAM DIMMs and just run on your NVME/SATA SSD as RAM instead (unless your CPU/MB support that which to my knowledge isn’t common). I’m not saying that flash memory isn’t random access memory in the general sense of the word, I’m saying that when talking about a PC specifically RAM refers to special memory the motherboard makes directly available to the CPU, and a SSD isn’t that.
Next you’re going to tell me Apple Macs are not PCs.
entire SSD as Linux swap maybe?
Been there, done that:
But that was a HDD instead.
Turning RAM latency up from nanoseconds to milliseconds!
Reminds me of that person who mounted their Google drive as swap