The technology has been our life super comfy. And modernizing yourself is today’s necessity. Nowadays, everyone has a laptop, iPod, mobile phone. But I’m sure the majority of us will not be able to tell the difference between RAM and ROM. And if you are one of them, then this article is for you.
What are RAM and ROM?
I know you will start mumbling the full form of RAM and ROM now. Yeah, it is Random Access Memory and Read-Only Memory. Both RAM and ROM are there in the computer. RAM momentarily stores the data you are working on. It is a volatile memory. Read-only memory (ROM) is a memory that remains the same and cannot be modifying by any program or any user.
Let’s explore the difference between RAM and ROM in points.
Difference between RAM and ROM with example
Differences | RAM | ROM |
Types of memory | Volatile Memory | Non- volatile Memory |
Data Access | Data can be read and write | Data is read-only |
Data retentiveness | It could store the data until it is getting the power supply. Once power is gone, you will lose the data. | It keeps the data safe, even power is off. |
Speed | It is a high-speed memory. | It is a low-speed memory. |
Cost-effective | It is pricey. | It has a low cost as compared to RAM. |
Size | large in size with high capacity (1 to 255 GB) | Small in size with less capacity (4 to 8MB) |
Physical Appearance | It is available in two sizes. For desktop RAM, the length is 5 ½ inches and the width is 1 inch. In a laptop, RAM is just half of the desktop RAM length | ROM sizes can be different as per their use. It can be less than an inch in length to multiple inches. |
Types | There are two types of RAM: static RAM and dynamic RAM |
ROM is of different types: PROM, EPROM, and EEPROM. |
Usage | Store the instructions that CPU
required for ongoing instruction processing |
Stow the information that is needed during the bootstrap of the computer. |
Examples | RAM examples include VRAM, DRAM, SDRAM, SO-DIMM, and DIMM. | ROM is used as Firmware by micro-controllers. EEPROM, cartridge used with video game consoles are the example of ROM. |
Difference between RAM and ROM in mobile phones
If you think I’m going to narrate a different definition of RAM and ROM, in the case of mobiles, then you are mistaken. The definition of RAM and ROM is the same for the computer as well as mobile phones.
In PC, you can upgrade the RAM but not on mobile phones. For smoother performance in mobile phones, you need more RAM. So that mobile can support more apps in the background.
People are sometimes confused with ROM and internal storage. Internal storage is a tranche of ROM. Suppose that your mobile phone has 16 GB of internal storage but you can use only 12 GB of internal storage. The remaining 4 GB of internal storage act as ROM. In this space, your mobile operating system and some pre-installed apps will be there.
And guess what, this space is not ROM exactly. It is Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM). ROM is a read-only memory and cannot be rewritten or erase. In the EEPROM case, it can be rewritten but not frequently.
The main purpose of this article to clear the doubts of readers. I hope it helps you.
Here is an infographic by educba.com for a better understanding of RAM vs ROM: