Corsair Memory Vengeance LP Black 16GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9-9-9-24 XMP

Random-access memory, or RAM, is an essential component in all devices, from PCs to smartphones to game consoles. Without RAM, doing just about anything on any system would be much, much slower. On the flip side, not having enough for the application or game you’re trying to run can bring things to a crawl or even prevent them from running at all.

But what is RAM exactly? In a nutshell, it’s a high-speed component that temporarily stores all the information a device needs both right now and imminently. Accessing data in RAM is insanely fast, unlike hard drives that are slower but provide long-term storage.

RAM is essentially a device’s short-term memory. It temporarily stores (remembers) everything currently running on a device, like all OS-specific services and any web browser, image editor, or game you’re playing.

RAM prevents the CPU from digging through the device’s slower storage — like a hard drive or even a solid-state drive (SSD) — every time you request a new browser tab or load a new enemy to shoot. As fast as storage is compared to drives of years gone by, they’re still far slower than RAM.

Data that resides in RAM is readable from any capable component at almost the same speed. Because it has a hard-wired connection to the device, there’s no real latency in cabling or connection.

RAM doesn’t remember everything forever, however. It’s a “volatile” technology, meaning that once it loses power, it forgets everything. That makes it perfect for handling the multitude of high-speed tasks that your device throws at it each day.

But it’s also why storage systems like hard drives and SSDs are required. Unlike RAM, they hold information when the device powers off.