Some of the first memory systems used magnetic rings to store bits. Access time of several microseconds were around 10,000 times slower than modern memories. Storage capacities of 1 kbit were millions of times smaller than a modern memory device (billions of bits per chip). One Gigabyte of Core Store would cost around $14bn in today's money.

The Apollo moon lander control computer relied upon very similar "rope-memory" technology. Around that same time, integrated circuits started to become available and core store became obsolete.