Have you ever wondered about the difference between RAM and hard drive space? Knowing the difference is important when it comes to making decisions about how to adapt your computer to your needs.
Perhaps the best way to understand the difference is to compare your computer’s functioning to your performance of a task involving the processing of information. Let’s say that task is doing your taxes—‘tis the season, after all.
When you’re doing your taxes, you can perform a certain amount of the work involved with the information already stored in your brain; you know your name, social security number, and other personal information. But at some point, you are going to have to rifle through the filing cabinet for your tax forms and other financial documents to find all the information you need to finish the task and finally breathe a sigh of relief (or scream in terror, depending).
If your computer had to do taxes, it would break up the work in a similar way. Its RAM (random access memory—sometimes referred to simply as ‘memory’) is like the space you have inside your brain that allows you to quickly access a limited amount of information. Similarly, its hard drive is like the filing cabinet you use to store the bulk of the information you need.
That’s why the size (in GB) of your hard drive is greater than the size of your RAM. RAM is for the quick access of information, while your hard drive is for the storage of large amounts of information. Practically, that means that if you want your computer to run faster, you could install more RAM, while if you wanted to store more music, photos, data, etc., you could install a larger hard drive.
Of course, upgrading your computer could be a complicated process. As always, we’d be glad to help; don’t hesitate to contact us.