You are now entering the PC Anatomy portal

SDRAM, or Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory, is a type of computer memory that is synchronized with the system's clock. It is a popular and cost-effective type of RAM for main memory, known for being more efficient and faster than older DRAM types. SDRAM works by storing data in capacitors within a grid of memory cells and using a clock signal to coordinate data access, allowing it to handle more operations in less time.

Key features and how it works

Synchronous operation: SDRAM's access cycles are synchronized with the system's clock, unlike older, asynchronous DRAM.

Pipelining: The synchronization allows SDRAM to queue new commands while previous ones are being completed, which improves performance.

Burst reads: SDRAM can perform a burst read, where it retrieves a sequence of data from memory in a single operation.

Multiple banks: The memory is divided into multiple "banks," which allows different banks to work simultaneously, further hiding wait times.

Row and column addressing: Data is stored in a grid of rows and columns. To access data, a row address is sent first, followed by a column address.

Data retention: Like all DRAM, SDRAM needs to be periodically refreshed to retain data, which is done automatically in modern SDRAM.