Question

Semiconductor memory is used mainly for primary storage even with its high cost. In another hand, the magnetic tape is the cheapest storage media and it is commonly preferred only as backup storage! Use your own words to discuss how the storage cost, speed and capacity trade-offs can affect the choice of storage media.

Answer 1

Storage costs of magnetic tape are much lower than semiconductor storage (chip storage), but they take longer to access because they are not on-board the system and have to be added manually. Chip memory, on the other hand, can be used as primary storage for a system even with a higher cost because it's typically directly connected to the system board and is much more easily accessible by the system.