RAM

RAM (Random Access Memory) is your system's short-term memory. Data is temporarily stored here until you save your work to the hard disk. RAM is used by the system to store data that is processed by a computer's CPU.

The computer's work takes place in RAM. This is where programs run when you are using Word to create a letter, or Excel to produce a company spreadsheet.

This short-term memory disappears when the computer is turned off, so always save your file before turning off the machine. When you save a file, you are saving it to long-term storage that does not disappear when the computer is turned off.

The more RAM you have, the more things your computer can do at the same time, and the faster your computer performs certain tasks. RAM is measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB).

To understand megabytes and gigabytes, you need to know about bits and bytes. A bit is the smallest unit of data in computer processing. A byte is a group of eight bits. A megabyte is about one million bytes. A gigabyte is 1,024 megabytes.