Memory slot types: from past to present

RAM has undergone a logical evolution to the times of computing. To make a brief analysis, this entry is from 2020, so this technology has been behind it for many years. Thanks to this, we have been able to see different types of memory slot. Below, you will see that AMD and Intel had some struggle to innovate in this regard.

Index of contents

History of RAM memory and its slots

According to records, the first RAM that appeared in computing was SRAM ( Static Random-Access Memory ), and it would do so in 1963 from Fairchild. These abbreviations meant “ static random access memory ” and this RAM memory technology was based on semiconductors that maintained the data, if they received electrical power. This RAM was discontinued in 1995.

Soon after, in 1965, the DRAM ( Dynamic Random-Access Memory ) memory would emerge from Toshiba. Unlike the previous one, this RAM needed a dynamic refresh circuit. You know this much more because it has a lot to do with the one we use on PCs today. It was an asynchronous memory; In other words, they operated at a different speed than the system.

In the early 1970s, the personal computer movement began to take shape, started by Microsoft, Apple and IBM. The first personal computers incorporated this RAM memory. This memory left the market in 2001.

We made a huge leap until the 90s, specifically to 1992, to discover the RAM that would mark an era for computing: SDRAM ( Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory ). Its first manufacturer was Samsung, which indirectly gave a clue as to who would be one of its largest manufacturers. In their case they were running at the same speed as the system (synchronous) and were much faster than DRAMs.

We will focus on the SDRAM memory that was the one that gave rise to the famous RAM memory slots that we know today. In your case, The first memory modules used were SIMMs ( Single In-line Memory Module ). The contacts were only on one side and went from 30 pins to 72 pins. On the other hand, the modules currently used are DIMMs ( Dual In-line Memory Module ). These have contacts on both sides.

So that you don't mess between terminologies, the SDRAM memories are these:

SDR. RDRAM. DDR. eDRAM. RDRAM. DDR2. LPDDR2. DDR3. DDR4. LPDDR4. LPDDR5. DDR5 (coming soon).

RAM slot types

Next, we are going to talk about the different RAM memory slots that we have found in personal computers. In this case, we focus on SDRAM slots, which we see below.

SDR

The first slots were SDR RAM, commonly called SDRAM. The modules were DIMM type and had 168 pins or contacts. Its memory bus speed went up to 133 MHz. On personal computers, they came alongside the Pentium IIs and would continue to be used up to AMD's Athlon XP and Intel's Pentium 4s.

Their name was related to the frequency they had: PC66, PC100 and PC133. To give you an idea, its voltage was 3.3v. As for their timings or command signals, they were: RAS, CAS and WE ( Write enable ).

Its manufacture began in 1992 and ceased in 2002.

DDR

We saw these RAM memories for the first time in 1998 and guess who made it ? Yes, Samsung. The initials DDR SDRAM stood for Double Data Rate SDRAM and were the natural evolution of things. They replaced SDR modules and had 184 pins and 64 bits. Its memory bus speed reached 200 MHz, but just for that Double, they managed to reach 400 MHz. This was because they made two accesses per clock cycle.

They start with the same CPUs that ended with the SDR: Pentium 4 and Athlon XP. It would be nice to mention that Intel opted for RIMM modules, which were a complete failure. Continuing with the voltage, they could have a voltage of 2.5v, which is outrageous today. The normal thing was to see 64 MB DDR RAM, which was the standard capacity, although later it was reached up to 1 GB.

It lasted a short time in the market, since it came out in 1998 and we finished seeing it in 2004. It was replaced by DDR2.

DDR2

With the arrival of DDR2, the hornet's nest began to stir: the world of computing was beginning to have a lot of prominence at home. They were first manufactured in 2001 by… yes, Samsung again. However, we saw them land in 2003 globally.

So, they were DIMMs, they had 240 pins and 64 bits. Frequencies were up to 266 MHz, but DDR2 modules could perform four accesses per clock cycle, so the speed had to be multiplied by 4. In this way, the speed increases twice as compared to DDR. On the other hand, latency was also double.

As for the voltage, at most we saw 1.8V, which was a full- blown advance, knowing that the DDR reached 2.5V. We got to see memories of up to 800 MHz and 2 GB of capacity.

DDR3

Things started to get interesting with the arrival of DDR3. This slot was seen in new equipment or enthusiasts, since the performance was much higher. It came to the market in 2003 from the hand of Samsung, but we would see it standardized in 2007, at which time having 1 GB DDR3 was practically nothing.

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We also have 240-pin and 64-bit here, but they don't support DDR2. Proof of this is the notch on the side. The frequency of these memories reached 2133 MHz, but the standard was 1333 MHz and 1600 Mhz.

Consumption could not be reduced much, reaching 1.5 volts maximum. Something that is repeated in the different technologies is that, as speed increases, latency increases. Removing that detail, obviously, is a much faster technology.

Back then, the era of dual-core, quad-core, and hexa-core was in full swing. In the case of the PC sector, the first to "taste" DDR3 were the Intel Core i7 chips, thanks to Kingston, but other information assures that the first was AMD with its AM2 + socket.

The DDR3 cycle would end in 2011. Until then, we got to see 16 GB modules of RAM. How the world had changed, right?

DDR4

DDR4 RAM would land in 2011, but not thanks to Samsung, but thanks to Hynix. That said, it was launched on the market in 2014 and the lowest frequency would be 1600 MHz, reaching up to 3200 MHz, a figure that has already been exceeded today: today we can find modules operating at 4400 MHz. They come in a 288-pin DIMM format.

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They are the current memories, although we will soon see the DDR5 RAM land. The voltage has been lowered, the maximum being 1.45v, a figure that is very little. This change not only meant an increase in frequency, but now we saw Triple and Quad Channel technology. Not to mention that we would start to see individual 32GB modules.

In early 2020, it is the standard for RAM because DDR3 died almost 10 years ago. Now, we can find RAM memory cooling, because many overclock their modules.

So far the tutorial of the different types of RAM memory slot that we find. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask us.

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What do these slots remind you of? What experience have you had?