RAM means random access memory, and it’s useful to think of RAM in a computer as a workstation. Storing your computer (in the form of a hard disk drive) is a long-term memory, slower than random access memory. Thus, long-term storage is transferred to hard disk and short-term storage to RAM. Unlike hard drive storage, random access memory can be accessed in any configuration, requiring the location and permission of information from the physical location of the hard drive. This allows your computer to use RAM at any time for existing data. RAM is usually redirected “when needed”. When designing applications that require a certain amount of RAM, an equal amount of space is allocated for that use. As with most video cards, some computer hardware has its own RAM. In this case, the video card RAM is used for visual rendering only and cannot be distributed to other applications.