What Is Primary And Secondary Memory

A memory is a temporary location where information is stored for immediate use by the computer. It is the most basic function of the computer and without it a computer cannot work properly.There are two types of computer memory - Primary and Secondary memory.

A primary memory is refer to a specific memory type called Random Access Memory(RAM), and this type of memory is located on a microchip close to the computer central processing unit (CPU). Example of RAM include DRAM, SDRAM, RDRAM and DDR RAM. 

A secondary memory refer to the computer's permanent storage which is often refer to as the computer hard drive(HDD) or solid state drive(SSD). Data is stored in the secondary memory for a longer period - that means any program or data you store for future use will be held in the computer secondary memory (mass storage device). Example of secondary memories include Solid State Drive (SSD), USB thumb drive, or any device that can hold data while the computer is turned off.

So why do RAM matter so much in computers and why do you have to take into consideration when buying a computer? Before the computer runs any program or use data in Windows, a copy is loaded onto RAM from the secondary storage (SSD). The size of your RAM will determine what type and number of programs you can run at any one time. Having enough RAM means your computer will run more snappier and stable; and not having enough RAM will make your system run poorly. RAM is much faster that even the fastest SSDs,therefore if you have more RAM capacity to hold applications and data will help your computer perform quicker and more efficient. 

The size of your SSD or HDD does not have any significant influence on the performance of your computer. The capacity will only affect the amount of program or data you can install or store onto your computer which will not affect the speed the computer will take to process information. Having a bigger SSD/HDD capacity means you can expand the amount of programs - meaning more room to consistently upgrade your operating system's and other programs. 

Different memory types are designed by different manufacturers to perform many different functions for laptops, desktops and server computers. Always refer to your motherboard manufacturers guideline if you are thinking of upgrading your  computer memory to decide which brand to choose. This is absolutely your choice and there's nothing like one brand is better than the other depending on what you you're using your computer for. A few named memory manufacturers for your awareness: Kingston Technology, Micron Technology, Intel, Samsung, Qualcomm e.t.c. To see how, watch this video here.

Our laptops comes with most up-to-date memory types you will find. Spend some time to explore all the different brands that will best suit your needs.