| Term |
Definition |
| Bandwidth |
The capacity to move data on an electronic line such as a bus or a channel. In short, the amount of data moved relative to a specific time frame. It is expressed in bits, bytes, or Hertz (cycles) per second. |
| Bank Schema |
A method of diagramming memory configurations. The bank schema system consists of rows and columns that represent memory sockets on a system: rows indicate independent sockets and columns represent banks of sockets. |
| BEDO |
(Burst EDO) DRAM -- a type of EDO DRAM that can process four memory addresses in one burst. Unlike SDRAM, however, BEDO DRAM can only stay synchronised with the CPU clock for short periods (bursts) and it can't keep up with processors whose buses run faster than 66 MHz. |
| Binary |
A method of encoding numbers as a series of bits. The binary number system, also referred to as base 2, uses combinations of only two digits - 1 and 0. |
| Bit |
Short for binary digit, the smallest unit of data that can be processed or stored by a computer. A bit can have a value of either 1 or 0. Bits make up 'computer' language the same way letters of an alphabet make up human languages. Different combinations of different bits form 'words' and 'sentences' (actually signals) that a computer understands. Before these words and sentences can be transmitted from the CPU to memory, or vice versa, they must be broken down into 8-bit segments called bytes. Older computers were designed to handle only 8-bit data segments, while newer models have progressed to 64-bit segments. This larger bit width capacity generally means better and faster computer performance. |
| Buffered |
Buffered means adding logic, particularly drivers, to a SIMM or DIMM to increase the output current. Buffering is used to overcome signal attenuation due to capacitive loading. Modules that are "buffered" usually have small buffer chips mounted on them. |
| Burst Mode |
Bursting is a rapid data-transfer technique that automatically generates a block of data (a series of consecutive addresses) every time the processor requests a single address. The assumption is that the next data-address the processor will request will be sequential to the previous one. Bursting can be applied both to read operations (from memory) and write operations (to memory). |
| Bus |
The central communication avenue in a PCs system board. It normally consists of a set of parallel wires or signal traces that connect the CPU, the memory, all input/output devices, and peripherals and allows data to be transferred from one system component to another. Busses come in a variety of bit widths and speeds. To prevent data bottlenecks, the components attached to a bus
must operate at close to the same speed as the bus. |
| Bus cycle |
A single transaction between system memory and the CPU. |
| Byte |
A unit of information made up of 8 bits. The byte is the fundamental unit of computer processing; almost all aspects of a computer's performance and specifications are measured in bytes or multiples of bytes such as kilobytes (~1,000 bytes) or megabytes (~1 million bytes), or gigabytes (~ 1 billion bytes) |
