How to Check RAM Speed, Size, and Type on Windows and Mac

Want to know how you can check your RAM on Windows or Mac? RAM is random access memory that helps you to store the temporary files during any process. RAM provides the essential files to the processor during any processing. It is important for the overall functioning of your computer. You can check the RAM in a computer by going into the "System Properties" in Windows or by running the "free -m" command in Linux.

How to Check The RAM Specs on Windows

If you're planning on upgrading your computer's RAM (Random-Access Memory), or if you just want to know how much RAM your computer currently has, checking the RAM specs is a good place to start.

There are a few different ways to check the RAM specs on your Windows PC. One way is to use the System Information tool, computer properties, or task manager. In the below subheadings, we have concluded all of the methods. so keep reading to know more.

How to See How Much RAM Do I Have on Windows 11/10/8/7

Checking the total RAM installed in your computer with Windows is very easy. Just press the “Winkey + Pause Break” button on your keyboard and a window will appear with the details about your PC or laptop. See the heading “Installed RAM”, which is going to tell you how much RAM you’ve installed on your computer.

All Windows operating systems have a similar method to check your RAM as they operate on the same framework. Here are the common methods you can use in any Windows including Windows 7, 8, 10, and Windows 11.

The above method was for the PC having a pause key, but if you are using a laptop having no pause break key on its keyboard, you may follow the following method:

Method 1: Using “This PC” Properties:

  1. Right-click on the “This PC” icon on the desktop and a file menu will appear on your screen.
  2. Scroll down your mouse pointer and select the “Properties” option (Usually the last option in the file).
select properties
  1. A dialog box or window will appear with the details of your PC or laptop where you can see the “Installed RAM” heading with the amount of RAM installed such as 6 GB or 12 GB.
see installed ram

Method 2: Using System Information:

  1. This is another simple and easy method to identify the details of your RAM.
  2. First, go to the Windows search bar and type “System information.”
type system information
  1. Now click on the system information application to launch.
  2. Here you will see the details of RAM memory including total physical memory and available physical memory.
find details of ram memory

How to Check The Available RAM on Windows 11/10/8/7

Checking the available RAM on Windows PC or laptop is a piece of cake. Available RAM represents how much RAM is free and can be used by other apps and data:

Method 1: Using Windows Settings:

  1. Right-click on the “Taskbar” at the bottom and select the “Task Manager” option.
  2. Select “More Details” as the Task Manager opens.
select more details
  1. In the tab named “Performance” choose “Memory” so you can see all the details about your Ram.
  2. Check the heading at the bottom of this UI saying “Available”. The available memory should be in GBs but if it is not then you should consider installing more RAM on your computer.
check the head of available

Method 2: Using Third-Party Applications:

If you want to get more detailed information about your RAM speed, you can use a third-party tool such as CPU-Z. CPU-Z is a free program that provides detailed information about your computer's hardware and operating system.

To use CPU-Z, simply download and install the program, then launch it. CPU-Z will automatically detect your computer's RAM and provide information about its size, type, speed, and timings.

use third party application

Method 3: Checking Your BIOS

Your computer's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is another place where you can check your RAM speed. To access your BIOS, you'll need to reboot your computer and press a key while it's booting up.

  1. Access your BIOS, The key is typically one of the function keys (F1, F2, F3, F10, or F12), but it may also be the Delete key or a combination of keys such as Alt+F2.
  2. Once you're in the BIOS, look for an option that says something like "Memory Speed" or "RAM Speed."
  3. This option will usually be located in the "Advanced" section of the BIOS. The exact location will vary depending on your motherboard and BIOS version.
  4. Once you've found the option, take note of the number next to it. This is your RAM's speed in MHz. For example, if it says "800MHz," that means your RAM is running at 800 megahertz.
check ram's speed in mhz

How to Check The RAM Speed on Windows

Check RAM Speed in Windows 10 & 11:

  1. Right-click on the “Taskbar” and select “Task Manager”.
  2. A window will appear where you need to press on “More details”.
  3. In the “Performance” tab select “Memory” to see all the details about your Ram.
  4. At the bottom, there will be a heading saying “Speed” where you can see the maximum speed of your RAM such as 2000 MHz.
see the maximum ram speed windows 10/11

Check RAM Speed in Windows 7 & Windows 8:

  1. To check your computer's RAM speed in Windows 7, you can use the Windows Task Manager. To open the Task Manager, press "Ctrl+Shift+Esc" on your keyboard.
  2. Once the Task Manager is open, click on the "Performance" tab.
  3. In the performance tab, you will see information about your CPU usage, memory usage, and disk usage.
  4. Look for the "Memory" section and find the "Speed" entry. This will tell you how fast your RAM is running.
see the maximum ram speed windows 7/8

How to Check What Type of RAM Is in My Computer on Windows 11/10/8/7

Checking the Type of RAM is also an easy task:

  1. Just open the “Start Menu” and type “cmd”.
  2. An app named “Command Prompt” will appear. Select “Run as administrator” to run this app.
select run as administrator
  1. Type this command “wmic memorychip get devicelocator, memorytype” removing the quotation marks and pressing enter.
type the command
  1. Congratulations! You’ve all your memory types displayed.

How Can I Get More RAM on Windows PC

Getting more RAM not only increases the performance of your computer but it also allows you to open multiple apps at the same time without having a problem. There are no apps that will help you increase your RAM because RAM is a physical electronic module installed on the motherboard of your laptop or PC.

You can get more RAM in simple steps to make your computer a better performing device:

  1. First, check how much RAM is installed in your computer as we have described above in this article.
  2. After that check what kind of motherboard you have, how much RAM can be installed in it, and what kind of RAMs it supports; this is because all mobos do not support DDR5 RAM.
  3. Compare the installed RAM with the total RAM that your computer can handle. If the figures are equal then you cannot increase your RAM unless you buy a better mobo on which more RAM can be installed.
  4. On the other hand, buy the amount of memory you want to add to the installed RAM and install it in the RAM socket after turning off your computer.

How to Check The RAM Specs on Mac

If you're a Mac user, checking your computer's RAM specifications is important for a number of reasons. Perhaps you're considering an upgrade, or you need to troubleshoot an issue with your machine. In any case, it's easy to do and only takes a few minutes.

  1. Click on the Apple icon in the top left-hand corner of your screen.
  2. Select "About This Mac."
select about this mac
  1. A window will pop up with your machine's specifications. Under the "Memory" heading, you'll see how much RAM is installed as well as what type it is.

How to See How Much RAM do I Have on Mac

The method is simple to follow and with a few clicks all your RAM information will be displayed on your screen. Here’s how:

  1. Just click on the apple icon on the left upper corner of the operating windows, here you will find the option of “System information”.
find option of system information
  1. Click open the system information and here you can see the RAM details including how much RAM you have.
open the system information

How to Check The Available RAM and RAM Speed on Mac

Checking the available RAM on MacOS is not complicated. Available RAM represents how much RAM is free and can be used by other apps and data. You can check the Available RAM on Mac using this simple method:

  1. Select the search from the top bar of your MAC operating system.
  2. Search “Activity monitor” from the list.
search activity monitor
  1. Now go to the “Memory section.”
  2. Here you will find all the details including the RAM speed and Availability.
go to memory section

How to Check What Type of RAM is in my computer on Mac

If you have a Mac, there are several ways to check what type of RAM is in your computer. One way is to use the "About This Mac" feature.

  1. To do this, click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen and then select "About This Mac." A window will appear that shows you information about your Mac, including the type of processor and the amount of memory.
  2. Here you can see your RAM is DDR4, DDR 3 or DDR5.

How Can I Get More RAM on Mac PC?

There are a few ways to get more RAM on your Mac PC. One way is to upgrade the amount of physical memory or RAM, that your computer has. This can be done by purchasing and installing additional RAM modules, or by replacing the existing modules with larger ones.

Another way to increase the amount of available RAM is to use virtual memory. Virtual memory allows the computer to use a portion of the hard drive as if it were RAM. This can be helpful if you are running low on physical RAM, but it can also slow down the computer since accessing data from the hard drive is slower than from RAM.

There are a few ways to get more RAM on your Mac PC. One way is to upgrade the amount of physical memory or RAM, that your computer has. This can be done by purchasing and installing additional RAM modules, or by replacing the existing modules with larger ones.

Related: How to Clear RAM on Mac

Conclusion

Checking your computer's RAM specifications is important for a number of reasons. Perhaps you're considering an upgrade, or you need to troubleshoot an issue with your machine. In any case, it's easy to do and only takes a few minutes. We hope this guide on how to check RAM speed, size, and type was helpful. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to us in the comments below.