What is SDRAM?

SDRAM stands for Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory. SDRAM is a type of semiconductor memory that is used to increase how many instructions your computer's processor can process in a given amount of time. This is an improvement over the older DRAM or Dynamic Random Access Memory.

SDRAM and Computer Speed

You will often hear computer users refer to any RAM, including SDRAM, when talking about computer speed. Any time you run a program on your computer like a word processing program, game, or Internet browser, your computer's processor loads the executable file (.exe) for that program from the hard drive to the RAM. The larger the program, the larger the amount of RAM it will need to run smoothly. Programs such as Microsoft Office Power Point or state of the art games will take a huge chunk of RAM to run. This means any other programs may slow down or stop completely.

If you take a look at your computer right now, you probably have an antivirus program running, your Internet browser, and a few other programs. Each one of those little icons on the bottom of your screen is using RAM.

Most newer computers will come with 2 to 4 Gigabytes of SDRAM already installed so you won't have to worry about it at all. If you have an older computer, adding RAM is always a great first step to an upgrade.

Most software you can purchase will show you the minimum RAM needed for the software to run efficiently. You should always double-check the packaging of any software to make sure your computer meets or exceeds the recommended amount of RAM.

How Much RAM Do You Really Need?

The amount of SDRAM you need boils down to one question. What do you do with your computer? If you only use it for e-mail and playing games like Bejeweled, 1 GB of RAM is probably plenty, even if you are a Windows Vista user. If you play graphics-intensive games such as Fallout 3 and Crysis, you should get as much RAM as possible to complement a top-notch video card. RAM by itself won't make your graphics any better but can definitely improve the overall speed of many games.