Is cache smaller or larger than RAM?

Cache is generally smaller than RAM because it is a type of high-speed memory that is designed to provide faster data access to the CPU by storing frequently accessed data and instructions. Its primary purpose is to improve performance by reducing the time it takes to read from the slower main memory (RAM).

The capacity of cache memory is significantly limited compared to RAM. While RAM is typically measured in gigabytes (GB), cache memory often ranges from a few kilobytes (KB) to several megabytes (MB). This smaller size is due to the need for higher speeds; cache memory is built using different technologies optimized for speed, which are more expensive to produce compared to the technologies used for standard RAM.

Because of these characteristics, the correct understanding is that cache is indeed smaller than RAM, as it is designed to complement RAM by enhancing performance, rather than replacing it.