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Random-Access Memory (RAM)

Definition
AI-generated

Random-Access Memory (RAM) is volatile main memory that stores data and program state while a computer is running, with direct access to addresses for fast reads and writes.

Topics
Compute and Hardware Bioinformatics
Synonyms
RAM Main memory
Related
Memory CPU CPU Core

Why it matters in GWAS

Many GWAS and sequencing tools are memory-heavy; insufficient RAM causes failures, swapping, or severe slowdowns when working with large cohorts, dense genotype matrices, and reference panels.

Example usage

"The imputation step required 256 GB RAM per job to keep chromosome chunks in memory without spilling to disk."

Other meanings (optional)

  • Memory - persistent state in LLM and agent systems across turns or sessions.
Memory CPU CPU Core Software Thread Operating-System Process Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) High-Performance Computing (HPC) Slurm
Related-term network

Click any node to open that term page.

Node order. The current term is first. Next come every page linked from Related terms, in the same top-to-bottom order as that list. Then new terms appear in two-hop layers: for each of those direct neighbors (in that same order), their related terms are appended if not already listed. A third pass does the same for two-hop nodes. The walk stops when a fixed maximum number of nodes is reached.

References

  • Patterson DA, Hennessy JL. (2017). Computer Organization and Design.
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