Do hard disks provide fast or slow access to data compared to a RAM?

Answer 1

NO! Think about this logically.....

A HARDDRIVE (HDD)

1. reiceives a signal to write information to the in a location on a platter (the metal disc(s) inside a HDD)

2. the platter must already be spinning at the required RPM's or it will need to take the 1/5 sec - 1/10 sec to speed up.

3. the metal arm with the sensor must move back and forth on the disc writing the information.

4 receives signal to access information (that was just written) in a location on a platter

5. the platter must already be spinning at the required RPM's or it will need to take the 1/5 sec - 1/10 sec to speed up.

6. the metal arm with the sensor must move back and forth on the disc reading the information, and either, #1 cache parts before sending, or #2, stream it to the CPU

7. The information is then sent to the CPU along an extremely thin, but fast wire.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

1. The CPU sends information Directly to the RAM, and stores it.

2. The CPU recalls some or all of the information and is sent back to the CPU along a fast thin metal wire.

Even HDD that spins at over 7200 RPM can never match the speed of ram. Hard drives are the equivelent of looking for your answer in the library, while RAM is like "googling" the answer.

Ram is also rated by speed. Some ram is slower than others. This is a 256mb ATI RADEON x1800 is slower than an NVidia 64mb GeForce 4. The NVidia card is MUCH older, but faster, and for games that require less technology, and only 64 mb of ram, the NVidia will always outperform the newer larger card.

Ram is rated by "Bandwidth" usually in terms of Gigabytes per second. This is the sole most important fact in choosing ram or a video card of the desired size.

Do not make the mistake of thinking you are "upgrading" your computer by putting in 2 more gigs of ram you got for a steal of a deal as the store probably got the deal, not you. Always check to make sure the ram has the highest ratting possible.

The only reason ram might not matter, is if the ram is faster than the circuitry, or CPU itself.

always compare the max speed of your system with the part you want to buy. Doing so will almost always give you the same performance for LESS COST!!!

Answer 2

It actually depends on the kind of HDD you are using in your computer. If you are talking about ordinary HDDs compared to that of an SSD, an HDD can take a slower time to load data then that of an SSD. SSD stands for Solid State Drive, meaning that instead of using a disk like an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) does, it uses chip-sets within the drive to contain information. Even though SSDs are moderately expensive, they are worth it alone for the information speeds it takes a computer to process.

Some users tend to install their OS on SSDs because the computer is able to boot faster, approx. 3 - 8 seconds, compared to that of an HDD which can take up to a minute.

Answer 3

Accessing data from RAM is much faster than accessing data from the hard drive.

Answer 4

The Computer's registers (not the same as the registry) and cache can be accessed and writen to more quickly than R.A.M.