Which one of the following storage devices is (typically) the fastest?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To determine which storage device is typically the fastest, let’s evaluate each option in terms of access speed and proximity to the CPU.
Option a: Hard-disk. Traditional spinning hard disks have relatively long seek times and rotational latency, making them much slower than RAM and caches. This option is not the fastest by any standard measure.
Option b: Main Memory (RAM). RAM is significantly faster than hard drives and optical media, but it is slower than CPU cache because cache is located inside or very close to the processor and uses faster SRAM technology. RAM is fast, yet not the fastest here.
Option c: DVD-ROM. Optical media like DVD-ROM has high access times due to mechanical movement and slower data transfer rates, rendering it much slower than RAM and cache. This is not the fastest.
Option d: Read-Only-Memory (ROM). ROM stores firmware and is non-volatile, but its access times and transfer rates are not designed for speed relative to RAM or cache, so it is slower than both RAM and cache.
Option e: Cache-Memory. Cache memory sits closest to the CPU and uses very fast SRAM technology to reduce average access time. It is specifically designed to be the quickest storage layer in the memory hierarchy, enabling the CPU to fetch data and instructions with minimal delay. Given this, cache-memory is the fastest among the listed options.
Therefore, the fastest storage device among the options is cache-memory, followed by RAM, with the disks and optical/ROM options lagging behind. The reasoning hinges on memory hierarchy principles and hardware characteristics that favor near-connector, high-speed caches for rapid data access.

MCD4700 Introduction to Computer Systems, Networks and Security - Trimester 2 - 2025

Which one of the following storage devices is (typically) the fastest?

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