ABSTRACT
The design and implementation of a computer’s memory system can have just as great, if not greater, impact on system performance as the design and implementation of the processor. Memory in modern computer systems is not one monolithic device or collection of similar devices. It is a collection of many different devices with different physical characteristics and modes of operation. Several types of memory devices are used in modern computer systems. The most popular types of memory are semiconductor chips (integrated circuits) and magnetic and optical media. Optimizing the performance of memory systems has always been a big problem due to technological and cost limitations. For the vast majority of tasks, computer systems tend to require much more code and data storage than computational hardware; thus, it is generally not cost-effective to build the memory system using the same technology as the processor.
