watt@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Gill Watt) (03/01/91)
howdy, I have a curiosity question: Why do the mac laptops use SRAMS instead of the standard DRAMS? Is it because DRAM refresh circuitry consumes a lot more power? If so, how much more? Anyone know any other reasons? Thanks. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Gill Watt (watt@eleazar.dartmouth.edu) Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (03/02/91)
In article <1991Mar1.020935.7107@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> watt@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Gill Watt) writes: >Why do the mac laptops use SRAMS instead of the standard DRAMS? >Is it because DRAM refresh circuitry consumes a lot more >power? If so, how much more? It's not the refresh circuitry so much as the DRAMs themselves. DRAMs simply are not low-power technology. The right sort of SRAMs are. There is no single meaningful answer to "how much more". It can be orders of magnitude, if you really work at making the SRAM system economical. In particular, where DRAMs draw milliamps, SRAMs in low-voltage standby typically draw nanoamps. -- "But this *is* the simplified version | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology for the general public." -S. Harris | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry