Which module can hold the most pins, SIMMs or DIMMs?
Give another analogy of what main memory does as compared to other forms of memory (cache or disk).
Using a DIMM chip, how many DIMMs would it take to handle a 128-bit data path?
Can you use a non-buffered DIMM with a mother board that has no buffer module on it?
What is the bit width of a parity SIMM with a 168 pin DIMM chip?
List three of the five ways to improve bandwidth of the main memory.
Answers and Question
DIMMs can hold up to 168 pins whereas SIMMs can hold up to 72 pins.
Although there are many here is another one using money as the example. Your pocket is the cache that holds all the little change, which is the easiest and fastest to access. Next is your wallet which is the main memory, it takes a little bit more time but it is not very slow. And lastly, the bank is you disk drive. It is an all day event to take out money and is a pain in the butt to have to wait all day.
If two 144 pin DIMMs can handle a 64-bit data path, then four can handle a 128-bit data path (4 x 32 = 128).
72 (look at table on previous page).
Once again the five ways are a wider main memory, a simple interleaved memory, independent memory banks, avoiding memory bank conflicts, and a specific interleaving for DRAM.