Zoom into RAM
From the stick in its slot to the cell that holds one bit
size
holds
red box = what the next level zooms into
RAM or DIMM?
You've heard that stick called RAM. You'll now hear it called a DIMM. Both are correct — they answer different questions.
So the precise description is: a DIMM populated with DRAM chips, serving as your main RAM. The parallel you already know — your SSD is storage (role), built from NAND flash (technology), in an M.2 stick (form factor). Nobody thinks "storage" and "M.2" compete.
- 1RAM is what it's for. Random Access Memory: reach any address in about the same time, unlike a disk where position matters. Your CPU cache is also RAM, and it isn't a stick at all.
- 2DRAM is how it stores. Dynamic RAM — charge in leaky capacitors that must be topped up. That's the technology, and it's the reason everything later in this doc happens. Cache uses SRAM instead: same role, no refresh.
- 3DIMM is how it's packaged. The board-with-gold-teeth shape you can hold.
So the precise description is: a DIMM populated with DRAM chips, serving as your main RAM. The parallel you already know — your SSD is storage (role), built from NAND flash (technology), in an M.2 stick (form factor). Nobody thinks "storage" and "M.2" compete.