How much ram did the first computer have?

Answer 1

in need to know

• ABC had 60 binary 50 bit words of capacitor drum memory
• ENIAC had 20 decimal 10 digit words of vacuum tube accumulators but later had 100 decimal 10 digit words of ferrite core memory added
• Manchester Baby (the first functional stored program computer: 1948) had 32 binary 32 bit words of CRT DRAM when it ran its first program: a factoring program that took 52 minutes to run. The memory was expanded several times later as the CRT DRAM technology was perfected
• Von Neuman's IAS machine had 256 binary 40 bit words of RCA Selectron tube memory but was later upgraded to 4096 binary 40 bit words of ferrite core memory
• Whirlwind at MIT had 512 binary 16 bit words of CRT DRAM but was later upgraded to 4096 binary 16 bit words of ferrite core memory
• UNIVAC I had 1000 decimal/character 12 character words of acoustic Mercury delay line memory
• IBM 701 had 1024 binary 36 bit words of CRT DRAM when delivered, was quickly upgraded to 2048 words, then eventually the CRT DRAM was upgraded to 4096 binary 36 bit words of ferrite core memory
• IBM 702 had 4000 decimal/characters of CRT DRAM plus two 512 decimal/character variable length accumulators of CRT DRAM
• IBM 650 had 1000 decimal 10 digit words of magnetic drum memory, later this could be upgraded to 2000 words. Later a small 60 word ferrite core memory buffer was added as a magnetic tape/magnetic disk block/sector buffer for I/O.

Most machines after this used ferrite core memory, although for a long time inexpensive machines used either magnetic drum or magnetostrictive wire delay line memory.

I have left out many early machines to try to catch most of the "firsts" also I don't have all the memory stats on some of the machines.

Answer 2

• ABC had no RAM, it had 60 registers 50 bits long.
• ENIAC had no RAM, it had 20 accumulators 10 digits long.
• Colossus had no RAM, it had counters, comparators, and high speed ring shifters.
• Z1 had RAM, a small amount, but it was all mechanical.
• Harvard Mark I had no RAM, just several decimal accumulators, it was electromechanical.
• The Analytical Engine would have had RAM if it was built, but it was all mechanical.

The idea of needing RAM was far from clear at the time, most of these machines that we call the first computers were seen at the time as simply large numbers of high speed automatic "desk calculators" interconnected to exchange results to solve a large problem faster than human computers with desk calculators could.

Answer 3

4.5 bytes