Random Access Memory (RAM) is an essential component in every computer.
RAM is a short-term memory bank for all the data your processor is currently working on.
RAM speed is currently measured and advertised in megahertz (MHz).
So, what’s the better measurement for RAM?
What Is Megahertz (MHz)?
Megahertz (MHz) is a measurement of frequency.
Mega means a million, while hertz is a unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second.
So, if you put it together, it means a million cycles per second.
So, what frequency does it measure exactly?
Megahertz can be used in just about anything where an instance is repeated.
What Are Megatransfers Per Second (MT/s)?
Megatransfer is a unit measurement for data rate in megabytes.
One megatransfer is equivalent to one megabyte.
RAM speed is either measured in MHz or MT/s.
These switches function like the regular switches you use to turn the room lights on and off.
In electronics, an on switch denotes 1, and an off switch means 0.
These 1s and 0s (also known as binary numbers) compose all the data running on your system.
When we measure RAM speed using frequency, we measure how fast these transistors can cumulatively switch per second.
This was because data was being transferred in sync with the clock speed of the RAM.
Instead, DDR is a technology that doubles the data rate in regular SDRAM.
Both data rate and frequency are good measurements to indicate RAM speed.
The problem is with the numbers that RAM manufacturers use to advertise their products.
It has become the standard for RAM manufacturers to advertise their products to run at double the clock speed.
So, instead of 3,600 MHz, it should be 3,600 MT/s or 1,800 MHz.
Why Does Everyone Still Use MHz?
Before the introduction of DDR, RAM modules were transferring data at Single Data Rate (SDR).
This meant that RAM used to transfer data per clock cycle.
So, if the RAM speed was 800 MHz, the data rate was also 800 MT/s.
But with the introduction of DDR, RAM can now transfer twice the amount of data per clock cycle.
This caused RAM manufacturers problems in terms of advertising specifications.
They might have even opted to buy SDR RAM.
Using MT/s instead of the usual MHz might have also caused further confusion.
This, of course, continued until today, when MHz is still used instead of MT/s.
The best thing to do is to ignore the labeling metric and just stick with the numbers.
