Definition of Memory SODIMM for a Laptop
Computer memory comes in many different forms, with each form either having a technological advantage over previous forms or being designed for a different type of computing. Since laptops require components be as small as possible, they generally use Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Modules, or SODIMMs.
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What is RAM?
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SODIMMS, like all memory modules, are types of Random Access Memory, or RAM. Since it takes computers quite some time to access information on long-term storage devices, like hard drives, RAM modules provide a temporary place for the computer to quickly store and access pieces of information. Once the power stops flowing to a RAM chip, like when you turn off the computer, the chips lose all of their stored information and are effectively blank when you power the system back up.
About DIMMs
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Dual Inline Memory Modules, or DIMMs, were developed to overcome some of the drawbacks of the Single Inline Memory Modules, or SIMMs, that had been used in many PCs beginning in the 1980s. Unlike SIMMs, DIMMs had non-redundant components on both sides of the circuit board and used a 64-bit bus. The 64-bit bus matched the bus of the Pentium processors, allowing DIMMs to be installed one at a time, unlike SIMMs, which had to be installed in matching pairs. While certain types of non-volatile memory is starting to become popular, DIMMs are still the dominant memory module in PCs and memory module advances, like SDR, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 all still use the DIMM form factor.
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DIMMs and SODIMMs
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SODIMMs, as their name implies, are simply DIMMs with a small outline. As laptop computers became smaller and smaller, manufacturers were looking to save space anywhere they could. The 133-millimeter-long DIMMs may have been fine in desktop computers, but they wound up being far too big for mobile devices. To solve the issue, SODIMMs were developed. These smaller chips performed the same function as a DIMM, but at 67.6 millimeters wide, took up half the space. SODIMM chips are found in many laptops, but also in other devices that have small form factors, like printers and network hubs. SODIMMs were found in order smartphones and tablets, but most newer mobile devices have switched to non-volatile memory.
SODIMM Characteristics
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While each SODIMM chips may look alike, with RAM chips lining both sides of the chip and metal contacts at the bottom, not all SODIMM chips are interchangeable. As memory technology advances, instead of changing the overall size of the chip, the newer chips simply move a small gap in the bottom of the board. This gap fits into a notch on the chip slot, ensuring that only the correct type of SODIMM can be installed into the slot.
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