How to Check RAM on Windows 10 & 11 (Step-by-Step Guide)

Have you noticed lately that your PC is slow? Is your PC throwing errors or crashes when you start multitasking? Is your PC not as responsive as it used to be? Are you curious about how much RAM your PC really has or how it’s being used in the background?

If you see any errors listed above and they sound familiar, you may need to buy more RAM to increase its capacity. Still, before you jump to that conclusion, you must first check your RAM amount and consider upgrading it if your PC struggles with it.

Your RAM works together with your CPU to keep your PC responsive. Your CPU uses your RAM every time you open an app you want to work with, launch a video game you enjoy, or switch between your Chrome tabs.

In this guide, you’ll discover the easiest ways to check RAM on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, along with a step-by-step guide, so anyone, including beginners, can follow. We’ll use clear explanations using pictures from my screen so you can follow my steps and find the exact RAM size that you have.

What is RAM?

Random Access Memory, or RAM for short, is a type of computer memory that stores data for quick access. You can think of RAM in a PC like a workspace in a workstation.

How does RAM work inside a PC?

Whenever you open a specific program or play a video game, your CPU communicates with your RAM and tells it to temporarily hold the information it’s actively using, and that’s how your computer responds quickly and handles multiple tasks at once.

RAM features a volatile memory, which means the data inside it gets destroyed and erased every time you shut down or restart your computer.

How can RAM be related to performance?

The amount of RAM installed on your system directly affects performance. When you have more RAM than what your PC actually uses, your PC can keep more apps in the background, open too many browser tabs, and open files without slowing down. If your RAM isn’t enough, your PC may freeze, or crash, or rely on your storage as “virtual memory,” which reduces responsiveness significantly.

What are the types of RAM in a PC?

RAM comes in different generations, like the old DDR3, DDR4, and the newest DDR5; each generation offers an increase in performance compared to the previous generation. The type of RAM used by your PC is related to your motherboard’s compatibility.

How much RAM should you have?

This question can be tricky because the answer depends on you and what you are doing. It isn’t always the same as anything related to the PC world.

As of 2025, you need at least 8 GB of RAM if your PC is for office use, things as surfing the web or checking your emails. If your PC is for mid-range video games or to use as a workstation, then 16 GB or 32 GB of RAM should be enough. 64 GB of RAM is used by professional and heavy workloads, besides high-end gaming PCs.

How to Check RAM on Both Windows 10 & 11

Now that you know what RAM is and how much you should have, let’s find out exactly how much RAM is in your PC. Don’t panic, you don’t need to be a tech geek to follow me. We will go through the methods step by step so that anyone, including absolute beginners, can follow. Let’s get started, shall we?

Method 1: Check RAM Using Task Manager

One of the fastest ways to check your RAM details in both Windows 10 and 11 is through Task Manager. It shows how much RAM you have, as well as its speed in MHz, its form factor (DIMM for desktop, SODIMM for laptops), and how many RAM slots are available in your motherboard, and how many of them are currently in use, among others.

First, you must open “Task Manager,” and to do that, you must press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard, and then select Task Manager or simply right-click the Windows taskbar and select Task Manager.

Second, you must go to the “Performance tab” in “Task Manager”, and to do that, you must open the “Performance tab” at the top if you are on Windows 10 or at the left side if you are on Windows 11.

If this is your first time opening Task Manager, you will see just a small tab, which doesn’t do that much; you must click on “More details” at the bottom to get a lot of insights from it. Next, you must select the “Memory” option.

Here you’ll see the RAM usage, the total RAM installed (e.g., 8GB, 16GB, 32GB), its speed (e.g., 3200 MHz), and its form factor, In-use and available memory amounts. This tab offers a lot of insights. You can see more nerdy details if you would like.

Method 2: Check RAM Using System Settings

Another quick and simple way to check the amount of RAM installed on your PC in both Windows 10 and 11 is by using the Settings app. You can see your GPU model, your storage size, and your CPU model, as well as your system’s type, whether a 32-bit or a 64-bit OS. This method is less detailed than the previous one, “Task Manager”, but it’s a perfect way for a fast lookup.

To see your RAM details inside the Settings app. First, click on the Start menu and select the Settings app, or simply press “Win + I” on your keyboard to open it.

Once you open Settings, you must navigate to “System” on the left side panel.

Next, scroll down until you find the “About” option.

Next, click on it to see information about your PC (Device specifications). As you can see, I have 16 GB of RAM, along with an AMD Ryzen 5 8400F processor running on a 64-bit operating system.

Method 3: Check RAM Using System Information (msinfo32)

This method is considered advanced for checking your RAM. It uses the System Information built-in tool, known briefly as msinfo32. You can you this tool in both Windows 10 & 11, it gives you a more comprehensive overview of your device’s specifications, and it is more detailed than the first and second methods. It’s considered the ideal way if you are a tech nerd.

Please note that this method doesn’t display your RAM speeds, its type, or slot usage. If you want those details, you can check the second method, which uses the Task Manager or a third-party tool like CPU-Z.

To see your RAM details inside msinfo32. First, press “Windows + R” on your keyboard to open the Run dialog, then type “msinfo32” and press Enter.

You can search for System Information in the Windows search bar and open it.

Once you open the System Information, you will see the System Summary, scroll down until you see the Installed Physical Memory, Total Physical Memory, and the Available Physical Memory.

I will break them down now:

Installed Physical Memory (RAM): This entry shows the total RAM installed on your PC.

Total Physical Memory: This entry shows the usable memory available to your operating system.

Available Physical Memory: This entry shows how much RAM is currently free and it’s not in use.

Method 4: Check RAM Using Command Prompt or PowerShell

This is considered a more advanced method than the previous one (System Information (msinfo32) for checking your RAM, and it’s for users comfortable with command-line tools without a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Option 1: Using Command Prompt

For the first option in this method, we will use the Command Prompt, known briefly as CMD. It will grant you the information you wish for without any additional software.

To see your RAM information in plain text. First, you must open the CMD, and to do that, you can either Press Win + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog, type cmd, and then hit Enter on your keyboard.

Or search for CMD in the Windows search bar and open it.

Once the window of Command Prompt is opened, type the following command without brackets using your keyboard and finally press Enter.

(wmic memorychip get capacity, speed, SMBIOSMemoryType)

I will explain how you can decode the results. First, the capacity shows the total size of your RAM sticks in bytes, and to convert it to GB, divide the result that you see in the Command Prompt by 1,073,741,824.

So, 17,179,869,184 divided by 1,073,741,824 is 16. which means 16 GB of RAM.

The speed displays the RAM frequency in MHz (e.g., 4800). The SMBIOSMemoryType represents a code that gives you your RAM type (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4, DDR5).

20 is for DDR, 21 is for DDR2, 24 is for DDR3, 26 is for DDR4, and finally 34 is for DDR5.

When we decipher the results, you can see that I have 16 GB of DDR5 RAM with a speed of 4800 MHz.

Option 2: Using PowerShell

For the second option in this method, we will use PowerShell. I want this guide to cover all the possible ways, so you can achieve the same result with the method or option that you are comfortable with.

The only difference is that PowerShell gives you a more formatted output to check your RAM insights than the Command Prompt.

To see your RAM information in a readable, modern, and organized format. First, you must open PowerShell, and to do that, you can either Press Win + R on your keyboard, type powershell, and then hit Enter on your keyboard

Or search for PowerShell in the Windows search bar and open it.

Once the PowerShell terminal pops up, type the following command without brackets:

(Get-CimInstance Win32_PhysicalMemory | Format-Table Capacity, Speed, Manufacturer, SMBIOSMemoryType)

With this command in PowerShell, you can see the manufacturer of your RAM sticks as well as the same details as the Command Prompt. I have one 16 GB RAM stick from Kingston installed on my machine, as you can see.

Method 5: Check RAM Using a Third-Party Tool (CPU-Z)

If you want to check your RAM without using Windows’ built-in tools, the third-party tool that we will talk about is the way to go, especially for beginners.

It can fetch and display your RAM information, including its size, type, frequency, latency, and the exact channel mode being used. In this guide, we will work with CPU-Z, which is one of the best software up there.

It’s considered ideal for beginners who prefer not to use command-line terminals (CMD/PowerShell) as it has an easy, user-friendly interface.

The app is free, lightweight on your PC, and provides detailed information about your device’s specifications, including its RAM.

To start using it. First, download and install CPU-Z.

Once you install it and open it, go to the tab that says “Memory”. That’s where you can see a real-time snapshot of how your RAM is currently running.

This tab is pretty useful for checking whether your RAM is running at the speed it’s supposed to. For example, if you bought a 3200 MHz DDR4 RAM but you see that it’s running at 2133 MHz speed, then you must enable XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) in your BIOS to get your money’s worth.

The “SPD” Tab is considered another helpful place to check it. SPD stands for “Serial Presence Detect”. This tab is where CPU-Z really shines. It lets you look at each RAM module installed in your system.

For example, let’s say that you have two 8 GB RAM sticks installed. The Memory tab will show “16 GB DDR4 Dual Channel running at 3200 MHz,” while the SPD tab will reveal that you actually have two 8 GB Corsair Vengeance modules installed in Slot #1 and Slot #3, running with XMP enabled. (Dual Channel mode requires the RAM modules to be placed either on #1 & #3 or #2 & #4)

Conclusion

Checking your PC’s RAM is not that difficult. With the five methods I’ve provided, you can now find detailed information about your memory.

Knowing your RAM size, type, speed, latency, and configuration is required for either troubleshooting performance, upgrading, or just being curious about your PC’s muscles.

Now that you know how to check your RAM, the next step is to figure out whether it’s enough for you.

Check out our in-depth guides:

• Is 16GB of RAM Good in 2025?
• Is 32GB of RAM Enough in 2025?

These articles will help you decide if it’s time to upgrade or if your current PC is still perfect for your workflow and video games.