Bank

With memory, a memory bank or bank is the smallest amount of memory that can be addressed by the processor at one time. Below are the common configurations and explanations of banks relating to each of the major computer memory types.

• DIMM (dual in-line memory module) or RIMM memory modules can be installed individually, in a single slot. Therefore, one DIMM or RIMM memory module is a bank.
• In a computer with a Pentium CPU (central processing unit), which has a 64-bit processor, two SIMMs (single inline memory module) (2x32=64) are considered a "bank." That's because 72-pin SIMMs are 32-bit devices. If you're upgrading to 64 MB of memory, install two 32 MB SIMMs.
• When installing memory on an 80486 processor computer, because the 486 is a 32-bit processor and a 30-pin SIMM is 8-bits, four SIMMs (8x4=32) are considered a bank. If upgrading to 64 MB, install four 16 MB SIMMs. Remember that any memory currently installed in the computer would need to be removed and there would need to be four available slots.

Hardware terms, Memory terms, Slot