How does RAM last so long?

[REVERSEDSKIES]

Hi everyone! 

 

Knowing myself I'm surprised it took me this long to ask this question. But why on earth does RAM last so long?

 

Everyone knows that flash memory wears down. I mean an SSD has a maximum amount of reads and writes. It's not always the same and I'm sure that 2 of the exact same SSDs will each be slightly different in terms of how much can be written to or read from them, but in the end they have a limit. USB flash drives probably do too although I've never had an SSD or USB fail from too many reads and writes, but there's a limit.

So how is it that the flash chips on RAM last so long? I mean they're so much faster than an SSD and an almost infinite amount faster than a USB drive. They endure so many reads and writes too, probably more than your SSD. I believe e3verything you write to your SSD goes through your RAM first. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. Then there's all the things that are written to your RAM when you run a program or a game, that has to be both written to and read from your RAM. And to top it all off, it's not exactly uncommon to see a lifetime warranty on RAM as well. Kingston is one of them.

 

So is there anyone who can explain to me why RAM lasts so much longer than anything else even though those chips get to endure so much more? I know they're not the same flash chips as on an SSD but still, you'd think they'd wear down at some point.

 

Thanks!

[Moonzy]

9 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

why RAM lasts so much longer than anything else even though those chips get to endure so much more?

they're totally different technology, that's why they're different, would be the short answer

[WereCatf]

12 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

I know they're not the same flash chips as on an SSD but still

They're not flash-chips at all. RAM-chips only retain their contents as long as they get steady power and as soon as power to them is cut, they lose their contents as well. Flash doesn't work like that, flash does retains its contents.

[badreg]

DRAM uses solid state capacitors (which don't have a predefined lifespan) to hold a charge. Once electricity is turned off, the capacitor loses its charge and the data in DRAM is gone.

 

NAND flash uses a mechanism to trap electrons in a transistor to permanently hold a charge, even without power, which breaks down after a certain number of writes.

[REVERSEDSKIES]

22 hours ago, badreg said:

DRAM uses solid state capacitors (which don't have a predefined lifespan) to hold a charge. Once electricity is turned off, the capacitor loses its charge and the data in DRAM is gone.

 

NAND flash uses a mechanism to trap electrons in a transistor to permanently hold a charge, even without power, which breaks down after a certain number of writes.

Okay, my bad, I thought they were flash chips as well. But then, if they're solid state capacitors, how is it that they last so long? I know capacitors can last quite a bit longer than flash chips, but given how much RAM is being utilized, how much is written to it, how do they last so long? 

[Haro]

23 hours ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

the same flash chips as on an SSD but still,

They're not AT ALL. 

RAM loses all the data that is written on it once power goes out. 

While nandflash still holds it, and has a certain write endurance. 

[WereCatf]

14 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

But then, if they're solid state capacitors, how is it that they last so long? I know capacitors can last quite a bit longer than flash chips, but given how much RAM is being utilized, how much is written to it, how do they last so long?

I'm not sure you even really know what capacitors are or do. They're kinda similar to miniature batteries in that they can be charged up with energy and drawn that energy out of and in e.g. RAM, a charged-up cap is interpreted as a '1' and an empty as a '0' -- you're not "writing" anything into them per se. Also, solid-state caps don't really have any limit in how many times they can be charged up or depleted, they can literally be charged up and depleted trillions of times without even a hint of wear.

[badreg]

2 hours ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

Okay, my bad, I thought they were flash chips as well. But then, if they're solid state capacitors, how is it that they last so long? I know capacitors can last quite a bit longer than flash chips, but given how much RAM is being utilized, how much is written to it, how do they last so long? 

In addition to @WereCatf's explanation, "solid state" when referring to capacitors doesn't mean the same thing as "solid state" when referring to storage drives.

 

Solid state capacitors are so named because they don't contain any liquid like electrolytic capacitors, which are the cylindrical/battery shaped parts that you can see on your motherboard and other components. Electrolytic capacitors will fail/leak/pop after their rated lifespan, but solid state capacitors don't have a predefined lifespan and effectively last forever.