How does a computer chip store data?
In: Technology
The chip itself only stores a very limited amount of data in what’s called a “cache” (there are typically multiple “layers” of this cache: L1, L2, and L3). These caches are used for data that needs to be accessed really quickly and frequently. Data can and will be removed from this cache if it’s not being used and new, needed data will be loaded in.
You then have the more spacious reserves for data like RAM and disk. The same concept applies here. RAM is used for data that needs to be accessed quickly (but not as quickly as the data in the cache). Old/unneeded data will be revoked and more important data will be loaded in to replace it. Disk is the lowest layer and stores everything else. The lower down you go in these layers the longer it takes for data to be retrieved but the more space you have to store the data.
The chip manages the finding/loading of data from these different sources and then does the necessary processing on said data.
Hope that makes sense. Happy to answer follow up Qs.
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