How to Check RAM on Windows 11 (Size, Speed, Type, etc.) - Windows Basics

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Thursday, October 21, 2021

How to Check RAM on Windows 11 (Size, Speed, Type, etc.)

Learn how to check the RAM on your Windows 11 PC and diagnose RAM-related problems or make an informed decision when upgrading your system.

RAM stands for Random Access Memory, it is a physical chip installed on the motherboard of a PC to store all information temporarily to access all programs. and the software is stored on your PC and acts as primary storage.

Basically, the more RAM you have, the better your PC can multitask, open programs faster, and even start your PC faster. However, all of this also depends on the secondary storage devices (HDD or SSD) but that's a discussion for another time.

Knowing how to check the RAM on your Windows 11 PC can be useful in many situations such as when checking the requirements for the software you want to install, diagnosing a slow PC, or even when you want to upgrade your RAM or anything else. any memory. -related hardware for more informed decisions.

Since Window offers many ways to test your computer's RAM, let's take a look at all of them.

A. Check RAM using System Settings

This is one of the simplest ways to check the installed RAM on your system.

1. First, launch the Settings app from the Start Menu present on your PC's taskbar.

2. Then, click on the System tab from the sidebar present on the Settings

3. Now, scroll down and find the 'About' box and click on it to enter the section.

4. Finally, you will be able to see the installed RAM on your device in the Device specifications section displayed on the window.


B. Check RAM with system information

The Settings app is definitely a very quick method to know the installed RAM on your PC. However, if you need a little more information, you can bring up the System Information window.

1. To do so, press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut on your keyboard to bring up the Run utility. Then enter msinfo32 in the space provided and click the OK button.

This will bring up the System Information window on your desktop.

Now, find the label 'Installed physical RAM' from the left part of the window. You will also be able to see other options related to RAM. In case you don't know what they mean, here's a brief gist of them all.

  • Total physical memory: Some of your installed RAM is allocated to working hardware. Therefore, this number will always be less than your installed RAM and will be the exact amount of space your operating system can access.
  • Available Physical Memory: The amount of RAM shown here is the amount currently unused by your machine and available for allocation to other programs and/or services. The value here may depend on the specifications of each machine.
  • Total Virtual Memory: As the name suggests, Virtual Memory has no physical form on your computer's motherboard. Virtual memory is an unused portion of your hard drive that is used as a supplement to physical memory to make up for the amount of Physical Memory your computer lacks.
  • Availaibe Virtual Memory: The Available Virtual Memory field indicates that Virtual Memory is currently unused and available for allocation to programs and services.


C. Check RAM with Task Manager

In case you prefer more real-time statistics about your system's RAM usage, Task Manager is the option you should go for. Along with RAM usage, Task Manager provides many other metrics that can help you realize the usage of available system resources.

1. Click on the Search icon present on the taskbar of your Windows 11 PC. Then type Task Manager in the search box and click on the Task Manger box from the search results. 

2. Now click on the Performance tab from the Task Manager window. Then click on the Storage tab present on the sidebar.

3. You will be able to see the total amount of RAM available to your system along with the RAM type in the upper right part of the window.

4. In the lower right part of the window you will be able to see the In use RAM, the Available RAM, along with the Speed, Slots in use physical on the machine's motherboard as well. with Form Actor and hardware reserved amount of RAM. Under In use RAM, you can see the RAM currently in use under the Committed label.


D. Check RAM with Command Prompt

If in case you think Task Manager is showing you incorrect results or you want information beyond what all of the above methods provide, such as part manufacturer name , part number, serial number; you'll need help from the Command Prompt on your Windows 11 PC.

1. First, press Windows + R to launch the Run utility on your computer. Then type cmd and click the OK button to bring up the Command Prompt window.

2. Next, no matter which option you choose for Command Prompt, type systeminfo | findstr /C:"Total Physical Memory and press Enter to check the total physical memory installed on your machine. The Command Prompt will display the total physical memory in MB (Megabytes), divide this number by 1024 to get your speed in gigabytes (GB).

3. To test memory speed, type wmic memorychip get devicelocator, speed and press Enter on your Command Prompt screen. You should be able to see the form factor of your chip along with the speed (value in Mhz).

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4. Now type wmic memorychip get devicelocator, memorytype and press Enter to check the type of memory you have installed in your system. Since this command returns a numeric value, below is a list to know your memory type using the number displayed on your screen.

0: Unknown

1: Other

2: DRAM

3: Synchronous DRAM

4: DRAM cache

5: EDO

6: EDRAM

7: VRAM

8: SRAM

9: RAM

10: ROM

11: Flash

12: EEPROM

13: FEPROM

14: EPROM

15: CDRAM

16: 3DRAM

17: SDRAM

18: SGRAM

19: RDRAM

20: DDR

21: DDR2

22: DDR2 FB-DIMM

24: DDR3

25: FBD2

In case you want to know the capacity of each module (in case you have installed more than one module), part number and serial number; enter the full wmic memorychip list and press Enter on your Command Prompt screen.

These are all the ways you can check the RAM on your Windows 11 computer.

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