In the early days of computing, everything ran quite a bit slower than what we see today. This was not only because the computers' central processing units – CPUs – were slow, but also because ...

Computer memory capacity has expanded greatly, allowing machines to access data and perform tasks very quickly, but accessing the computer's central processing unit, or CPU, for each task slows the ...

When talking about CPU specifications, in addition to clock speed and number of cores/threads, ' CPU cache memory ' is sometimes mentioned. Developer Gabriel G. Cunha explains what this CPU cache ...

The dynamic interplay between processor speed and memory access times has rendered cache performance a critical determinant of computing efficiency. As modern systems increasingly rely on hierarchical ...

System-on-chip (SoC) architects have a new memory technology, last level cache (LLC), to help overcome the design obstacles of bandwidth, latency and power consumption in megachips for advanced driver ...

Why it matters: A RAM drive is traditionally conceived as a block of volatile memory "formatted" to be used as a secondary storage disk drive. RAM disks are extremely fast compared to HDDs or even ...

The disk cache in OS X can sometimes use a fair amount of the system's RAM, and clearing it can help you figure out how much RAM your applications and system processes are using. Topher, an avid Mac ...

Editor’s note: In this first of three features, processor expert Russell Fish provides his take on the future of computers, and multicore processing in particular. Contentious and opinionated, Fish ...

Web browsers like Firefox store a number of commonly downloaded files on the computer in what's called a cache. Storing these files saves the browser from having to load them from the Web every time, ...