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Topic: Random Access Memory (Read 198 times)

altpensacola
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Random Access Memory
« Thread Started on Apr 8, 2012, 12:48pm »

I have a curiosity computer function question that I searched a little but did not find an answer. I was going to ask on a computer site but thought I bet I can get a quite sufficient answer from you folks,

When music is being played from a hard drive what does the RAM do? My guess is that only the play list ( I select “play all” or some variation of) and a few functions of the player (in my case Windows Media) are on RAM but the music files are played off the hard drive. Or are music files moved to RAM and then tossed off?

« Last Edit: Apr 8, 2012, 12:49pm by altpensacola »

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DYohn
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Re: Random Access Memory
« Reply #1 on Apr 8, 2012, 2:04pm »

It depends on the software and to an extent on the hardware being used. In some cases the information is buffered in RAM, in some cases it isn't. I'd venture to say though that the majority of schemes use RAM to buffer information during streaming, and all of them to during decoding.

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xki
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Re: Random Access Memory
« Reply #2 on Apr 8, 2012, 2:05pm »

Apr 8, 2012, 12:48pm, altpensacola wrote:

First, the RAM will be the repository for the loaded software that actually tells the CPU what to do. The instructions to run everything is primarily store in RAM. The CPU accesses this between each instruction.

Second, the music being pulled off the hard drive isn't just shot right to the output. It will get pulled off the hard drive, go through the hard drives internal controller/manger and then into the cache memory then onto RAM. The CPU and the I/O controller determine how much RAM is available and the CPU will tell the I/O controller to go ahead and move the music from the cache to the RAM. The RAM is where the data (music) will reside until the instructions being performed by the CPU tell it to do 'something' with part of that data in RAM. The CPU could possible just send a trigger to the I/O controller (with RAM addresses) to move a chunk of data from RAM to the output. Some times the CPU will actually have to perform some operation on a chunk of data such as decoding an MP3 encrypted string. Then the CPU goes through a set of instructions reading the data on the RAM and decoding it and placing the newly decoded data back on RAM where the I/O controller then send it to the out if instructed.

That's kind of what happens. The RAM is where most of what runs the computer and the data needed to do most of anything is stored for really fast access. If the amount of RAM is too small, the I/O controller starts swapping what is in RAM back onto the disk and pulling that same info back in when it's needed. Disk is incredible slow compared to RAM. The more swapping between RAM and disk occurs, the slower your machine seems to rum. And it is running slower since it has to wait for that spinning disk to get lined up to pull in data.

A lot of RAM will cut down if not eliminate the swapping and thing move along without a hitch.

Bootman can probably correct me where I'm a bit vague.

« Last Edit: Apr 8, 2012, 2:06pm by xki »

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Re: Random Access Memory
« Reply #3 on Apr 12, 2012, 12:01pm »

Tthank you. that paints a better picture

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Re: Random Access Memory
« Reply #4 on Apr 12, 2012, 12:23pm »

Hopefully somebody didn't tell you about RAM JITTER!

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