RAM is also used to store instructions about currently running
applications. For example, when you start a computer game, a
large set of the game’s instructions (for example, how it works,
how the screen should look, which sounds must be generated) is
loaded into memory. The processor can retrieve these
instructions much quicker from RAM than it can from the hard
drive, where the game normally resides until you start it.
Within certain limits, the more information that’s stored in
memory, the quicker the computer will run. In fact, one of the
most common computer upgrades is to increase the amount of RAM.
The information in RAM is continually being read, changed, and
removed. It is also volatile, meaning that it cannot work
without a steady power supply. When a computer is turned off,
the information in RAM is lost. Recall that when a user makes a
request, it is intercepted by the processor, which then
organizes the request into component-specific tasks. Many of
these tasks must occur in a specific order, wit