How many 32K x 1 RAM chips are needed to provide a memory capacity of…
2009
How many 32K x 1 RAM chips are needed to provide a memory capacity of 256K-bytes?
- A.
8
- B.
32
- C.
64
- D.
128
Attempted by 1610 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Answer: 64 chips.
Explanation:
Each 32K x 1 chip stores 32K bits = 32,768 bits, which equals 4,096 bytes (4K bytes).
Total required memory is 256K bytes = 256 × 1024 = 262,144 bytes.
Number of chips = 262,144 bytes ÷ 4,096 bytes per chip = 64 chips.
Alternate check (bits): 256K bytes = 262,144 × 8 = 2,097,152 bits; 2,097,152 ÷ 32,768 bits per chip = 64 chips.
Note: Each chip is 1 bit wide; to build an n-byte-wide data path you would place multiple chips in parallel for each address. The count above is the total number of 32K x 1 chips required to reach 256K bytes of storage.