Why can’t you buy external ram that plugs into a usb like you can for an ssd?
In: Engineering
Everything in a computer needs to talk to the CPU to do anything. RAM sits like a fire truck next door to your CPU. It can fight a fire at your home at a moment’s notice. SSDs are sitting across the country in NYC while the CPU is in LA. It has to travel across the country to fight the fire. The USB interface is in a similar situation, but is technically even further in London. For stuff you do on the SSD, this distance and travel time isn’t as big of an issue. But for RAM, it is.
In more technical terms, almost everything your CPU does needs to work with data. RAM and your SSD store said data. RAM will give your CPU the data it needs on the order of tens of CPU clock cycles. An SSD can in thousands of CPU clock cycles. RAM also sits right next to your CPU in your computer, which means it has fewer chips and wires to go through before it gets to your CPU. SSDs and USB sit much further away, needing to go through several chips and wires to get to your CPU.
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