RAM/Memory vs Processor vs Hard Drive

One of the common misunderstandings in this field is the interchanging of the terms RAM/Memory, Hard Drive, and Processor. All too often clients refer to one as the other and vice versa, which can be confusing for technician and client alike. These completely different parts have distinct purposes inside of a computer, and the failure of one of these parts could mean different things than clients usually expect. This article will hopefully help clear up what these different parts do, as well as what to look for when considering an upgrade or new PC.First we will tackle RAM (also correctly referred to as memory). RAM is the acronym for Random Access Memory, the technical name for the part. The RAM is a long thin piece that is connected to the motherboard in a computer. The RAM acts as a conduit to the Central Processing Unit (CPU), and also holds all the temporary information waiting to be processed by the computer. My favorite analogy in regards to RAM is to think of it in terms of a highway. When adding more RAM think of it as adding more lanes to a highway. With more lanes there is less congestion, and with less congestion the more potential traffic can flow through. Depending on your computer's age RAM can be calculated in terms of Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB). Newer computers will have more RAM than older ones, allowing better multitasking than older computers with less RAM. Back with the release of Windows XP the average amount of RAM a computer had was around 512MB (half a GB) to around 2GB. Again, the more the merrier. Nowadays, some windows computers ship with over 3-8GB of RAM, and if you're really into state of the art can go higher. When shopping for a new computer RAM should be ONE of the main factors in your purchase decision… but shouldn't be your only criteria. In terms of a computer repair, the RAM sticks in a computer can possibly fail, due to no fault of the user. Most common symptoms of RAM failure are Blue Screen of Deaths (BSODs) and issues of randomly restarting while using the computer. Sometimes it is simple enough to replace the faulty RAM to resolve the issue, but it is possible bad RAM can cause irreversible damage to Windows, in which case a more in-depth repair may be required. The next part we will tackle is the Processor, also correctly referred to as the Central Processing Unit (CPU). It used to be that a CPU's power could be determined and ranked between other CPUs based on the printed speed (in GHz). However, new technology has made comparing CPUs between each other more difficult, as the amount of cores, generation, and other factors can affect how quickly the CPU operates. Sticking with our highway theme, the CPU acts as the toll-booth, in that all data must travel through it to be processed. CPU failures are rare, but do have the possibility of occurring. Most CPU failures are due to heat damage, either resulting from poor air circulation in the computer cause by dust, tobacco/cigar smoke, cooking oils if the PC is in/close to a kitchen, etc. Symptoms of CPU failure can also be in the form of Blue Screens, or more usually in the case of heath automatic shutdowns without warning. Finally, we come to the Hard Drive. The Hard drive is where all of your personal files, as well as the operating system are stored. All pictures, music, documents, favorites, programs, etc are stored on the Hard Drive. When comparing hard drives the amount of space is measured in GB and TB (1000GB). Most new computers can be configured with a hard drive anywhere between 250GB-1TB. Also, some external drives (mainly used to back-up data) can go higher. A hard drive is a relatively fragile piece of hardware in a computer. Anything from a speck of dust making its way into the airtight innards to the jarring experience of dropping an entire laptop, can ruin the fragile balance needed for it to work properly. This is the reason data backups are so strongly urged in the industry. If the hard drive goes bad for any reason it is a 50/50 chance if data can be retrieved, depending on how bad the failure is. Many consumers get to the point of a hard drive failure, and find that VERY COSTLY data recovery services (Sometimes in excess of $1500) are too expensive, and all of their years of saved memories and work are lost. Hard drive failures can take on many different symptoms, from significant locking up/freezing of a PC, audible clicks from within the computer, to Blue Screens and random restarts. All of these types of issues can be diagnosed, and the cause of the problem potential remedied (however, it is not always cost effective to repair older PCs)… that is why technicians exist. The main difference between technicians is the proficiency they have in quickly recognizing symptoms, their ability to communicate with clients what the issues are, and their relative speed/cost to repair a computer. I hope this article has/can help some of you out there, and if you have any questions feel free to drop us a line: repairs@rhinetech.com or twitter.com/RhineTech.