DIY CMOS RAM Memory

Step 2 Why use CMOS?

Now the question becomes, why use CMOS? The other circuit used half the number of transistors, and wasn't as complex. Well a reason for using CMOS is power consumption. The CMOS circuit uses less than 5 milliamps per bit maximum (when both switches are off and the LED is off, it uses less that a microamp). The other circuit used 15-25 milliamps per bit (depending on the switches and LEDs. Now let's put that into perspective, an 8-bit CMOS register would use less than 40 mA, but an 8-bit RTL (resistor-transistor logic) registe would use 120-200 mA!! Thats a huge difference.