How to determine the amount of RAM. How to find out how much RAM is in your computer

RAM plays an important role in any PC, be it a computer or a laptop. How much RAM is on your device depends on its performance. But not every user knows how much memory their computer can use. In today's article, we will tell you how to find out the answer to this question.

To find out how much RAM is on your device, you can use both additional software and standard Windows tools. We will look at various options.

Method 1: AIDA64

One of the most famous programs that allows you to view and diagnose all equipment connected to a computer is. This is a great solution for those who want to know as much as possible about their PC. Also, using this product, you can find out information about the operating system, installed software, network and third-party connected devices.

Method 2: Piriform Speccy

Another popular, but already free program for viewing information about all hardware and software components of a PC is. It has a fairly simple interface, but at the same time powerful functionality, which earned the sympathy of users. With this product, you can also find out the amount of installed RAM, its type, speed and much more: just run the program and go to the tab with the appropriate name. The page that opens will provide detailed information about the available memory.

Method 3: View through BIOS

Not the most convenient way, but it also has a place to be - this is viewing the characteristics through the BIOS of the device. For each laptop and computer, the ways to enter the specified menu may differ, but the most common keystroke options are F2 And Delete during PC boot. On our website there is a section devoted to methods for entering BIOS for various devices:

Then it remains to find the point called "System Memory", "Memory Information" or another variant containing the word Memory. There you will find out the amount of available memory and its other characteristics.

Method 4: System Properties

One of the easiest options: look at the system properties, because it describes the main characteristics of your computer, including RAM.

Method 5: Command line

Also you can use command line and learn more detailed information about RAM. To do this, launch the console through Search(or any other method) and enter the following command there:

wmic MEMORYCHIP get BankLabel,DeviceLocator,Capacity,Speed

Now let's look at each option in more detail:

Bank Label- here are the connectors to which the corresponding RAM strips are connected;
Capacity is the amount of memory for the specified bar;
DeviceLocator- slots;
Speed— performance of the corresponding module.

Method 6: "Task Manager"

Finally, even in "Task Manager" indicates the amount of installed memory.

As you can see, all the methods considered are quite simple and quite within the power of an ordinary PC user. We hope we have helped you resolve this issue. Otherwise, write your questions in the comments and we will answer as soon as possible.

Those users who at least once experienced the delight of increasing the size of the RAM of their computer by two or more times, are sure that the more memory, the faster the computer works. However, the rule "more memory - faster computer" does not always work. After a certain value, the effect decreases, and then disappears altogether. Now let's try to figure out how much memory can theoretically be installed in a computer, and how much is really needed for optimal operation of applications and the operating system.

How much memory can be installed?

The theoretical limit for 32-bit systems is 3+ gigabytes. A 64-bit system could theoretically work with 16.8 million terabytes!

Today, when programs are optimized to work with large amounts of memory, the RAM disk loses some of its appeal. And if you consider that all data on it will be lost during a power failure, then the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating such a virtual drive at home is no longer relevant.

So, the optimal amount of memory for a home computer is 8 GB. In this case, the memory bars will justify the money that you have invested in them.

And the best answer to the question "What to do with free memory?" sounds like this for modern operating systems: “Do not interfere with work!”. Those. just leave the memory alone - the system itself knows how to use it better, just work with programs and games.

Be sure to pay attention to the article, which reveals many points on the work of memory.

If the amount of RAM allows you to use a large number of programs at the same time, this is great, because you can quickly switch between them without resorting to closing programs.

Many people ask this question: how to find out the type of computer RAM? But that's not the only question they ask. You can often hear or see the question of how to choose the right RAM, how much RAM I have, how to find out in which mode it works - single-channel or dual-channel, and which purchase option would be most acceptable - one 8 GB stick or two 4 GB sticks? Today, in this article, we will try to analyze all these points.

How to find out the type of RAM

If you want to find out the necessary information about RAM, for example, frequency, size, type of RAM, then this is usually marked on the module itself, if this is not there, then you will have to look for information about and. Sometimes, it is difficult and long.

I want to explain a few things. If you have a processor Intel Core i3, i5 or i7, then you should know that the RAM controller is located in the processor, and earlier it was in the north bridge of the motherboard. Therefore, all RAM modules, if there are Intel Core processors, are controlled by them.

Now another important point. It follows from the above that now it does not matter what frequency of RAM your motherboard supports, you need to look at what frequency of RAM your processor supports. For example, Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors support the following RAM specifications: PC3-8500 (DDR3- 1066 MHz), PC3-10600 (DDR3- 1333 MHz), PC3-12800 (DDR3- 1600 MHz). These frequencies are the ones at which the RAM will work. If the motherboard supports, say, a frequency of 2400 MHz, then this does not matter.

If you have a processor with an unlocked multiplier, this is when there is a letter " TO", For example, Intel Core i7 6700K, this means that the RAM sticks will operate at the highest frequency, for example, 1866 MHz or 2400 MHz. In an overclocked processor, RAM can run at 2400 MHz. If you set the RAM bars with the maximum frequency, and you have a processor with a locked multiplier, then at best, the RAM will operate at a frequency of 1600 MHz, or the computer will not boot at all. Therefore, when choosing RAM, always pay attention to these points.

In the screenshot below, we see a bar of RAM on which some information is written, how can we read it?

Here are the designations:

4GB- 4 GB RAM.

1Rx8- this is Rank - which means a memory area that is created by several or all of the module's chips. For example, 1Rx8 means single-sided memory rank, while 2Rx8 means double-sided.

The bar does not indicate the type of DDR2 or DDR3, but there is a bandwidth - PC3-12800. PC3 stands for Peak Bandwidth, which only applies to the DDR3 type. (If it were PC2, it would belong to the DDR2 type).

As you can see, this RAM stick has a DDR3 type, and the bandwidth is PC3-12800. The number 12800 must be divided by 8, then you get 1600 MHz, which is the frequency of RAM.

Here is a standards specification table to make it more clear about other types of RAM.

Let's look at another RAM module.

In the example, we see that the RAM has a capacity of 4 GB, type DDR3 and throughput RS3-10600. Divide the number 10600 by eight and get a frequency of 1333 MHz.

Well, in fact, we figured out how to determine the type of RAM in appearance.

It is worth noting that all strips of RAM, depending on the type, differ in the size of the pads and the location of the cutouts. Thus, you will not be able to install a RAM module in a slot that is not intended for it. Let's say you have a DDR3 module. Installing it in the slot for DDR2 will no longer work.

Here is a diagram that shows everything clearly:

It happens that there is practically no necessary information on the module, and if you remove it, the warranty will be lost. Fortunately, we can determine everything we need by the name of the module itself.

Suppose we are given a module called Kingston KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX. Each characteristic in the name of this module means the following:

KHX1600– module frequency is 1600 MHz.
C9- Timings (the smaller they are, the faster the RAM works) 9-9-9.
D3– DDR3 type
8GX- The amount of RAM is 4 GB. At the end, the letter X means support for the XMP profile.

If you could not determine anything at all, or completely different information is written there, then you can drive in the name of the memory bar in the search engine and determine the necessary information. You can also determine the type of RAM. It will show you in detail about all the components of the computer.

Is it possible to put RAM of different frequencies?

They say that the frequency of RAM on the slats must match, in fact, this is not a prerequisite. The motherboard will set the frequency for all modules to the slowest bar. Sometimes, the computer can be unstable with different RAM frequencies.

Is it possible to install RAM modules at a frequency higher than that supported by the motherboard?

You need to remember that the RAM modules must be supported by your processor and motherboard. If you installed modules with a frequency of 1866 Mohs or even 2400 MHz, and the motherboard supports 1600 MHz, then in the best case, if the module will operate at a frequency of 1600 MHz, and in the worst case, the module will operate at 1866 MHz, but the computer will often reboot, appear all sorts of errors, blue screens. In this case, you will have to manually set the frequency to 1600 MHz.

What are timings?

RAM timings determine how often the processor accesses RAM. If you have a 4-core processor with a level 2 cache, then you should not pay special attention to large timings, since the processor already accesses less RAM. Timings may vary on memory modules. The motherboard will still set the timing to the slowest module.

What is needed for dual channel operation?

Before you buy new memory modules, you should study the characteristics of the motherboard in great detail. Usually, all this can be found in the documentation offered to it, if it is not available, then you can find it on the official website of the motherboard. Modern motherboards most often support dual-channel mode.

If the slots on the motherboard are colored in different colors, this means that it supports dual-channel operation. Thus, you can install two RAMs with the same characteristics in the same color slots.

Look, maybe your mat. the board supports dual-channel mode, then you can buy more RAM. Remember, the strips must be the same in characteristics.

What is the difference between dual channel and single channel mode?

If you do normal work on a computer, such as working in a text editor or surfing the Internet, then you won’t see much difference, but if you play powerful, modern games, render, work in Adobe Photoshop, then you will definitely feel the difference.

The note! If you install RAM modules of different sizes, the dual-channel mode will still work for them. Let's say one bar has 1 GB, and the second 2 GB, then the Motherboard activates dual-channel mode for the 1 GB bar completely, and for the second bar also 1 GB, the rest of the 1 GB volume will work in single-channel mode.

Is my RAM in single channel or dual channel mode?

To determine this, you need to download a special utility CPU-Z. Run it and go to the tab "Memory", there we see the point "#Channel" that matters Dual. This means that the RAM is running in dual-channel mode. If there were Single, then it would be a single-channel mode.

There is also a three-channel mode - Triple Mode, but it is rarely used.

Which will work better, two 4GB modules in dual channel mode or one 8GB module in single channel mode?

A rather controversial issue, but with some observations it turned out that during normal work at a computer there will be no difference, and when using large graphics and video editors, the difference will be noticeable, in our case two 4 GB sticks will work faster.

Is it possible to install memory modules with different volumes, frequency?

That's all, if you have any questions, ask them in the comments.

The amount of computer RAM, or random access memory (RAM) is one of its most important characteristics. Even if the computer has a sufficiently powerful processor, but the amount of memory is not enough to run resource-intensive applications, this will immediately affect the performance, which will be significantly reduced. The situation is aggravated by the fact that with each software update, as a rule, the requirements for the used computer resources increase.

Therefore, sooner or later, users have a question - how to find out the RAM of a computer in order to increase its volume if necessary?
The amount of RAM in modern computers is measured in gigabytes (GB). To check the amount of RAM installed in your computer, do the following.

In Windows XP

Click the "Start" button and the menu that appears, right-click on the "My Computer" item. The same can be done on the desktop if there is a shortcut "My Computer" on it.
After right-clicking, a context menu will appear, in which select the “Properties” item.
In the window that opens, go to the "General" tab, which will contain basic information about the computer: information about the processor and the amount of RAM.

In Windows Vista and Windows 7

On Mac OS X
Click the Apple icon () in the upper left corner and select About This Mac from the menu that appears. A window will open where you can get the most important information about this computer, including how much RAM it has.

On Linux
You can find out the total amount of computer RAM in Linux by running the system monitor from the "System" - "Administration" section or by running the following command in the terminal:

cat /proc/meminfo

You can also view RAM data using third-party computer diagnostic utilities such as Everest, CPU-Z, Sandra Sisoft, or by entering the computer BIOS. If the computer does not turn on, then you can determine its RAM only by looking at the inscriptions on the stickers of the memory modules, having accessed them.

Based on data on the current amount of computer RAM, you can outline ways to increase it and improve performance in resource-intensive tasks. When increasing the amount of RAM in 32-bit systems, please note that they cannot address more than 3.0-3.5 Gigabytes of RAM.

Do not know how to see how much RAM is on the computer or laptop? In this article, we'll show you how to do it.

You can see how much RAM is on your computer in different ways. You can open the case and find out not only how much RAM, but also the number of slats. There can be either one or several slats, depending on the motherboard installed in the system unit. For example, there may be slots for three sticks of RAM or two or another number, in each slot you can install bars with different amounts of memory. For example, 1 GB strips can be installed in two slots, as a result, it will turn out that the computer will have 2 GB of RAM. You can remove them and install 2 GB sticks instead of them, then the RAM will be already 4 GB. You can replace the RAM on your computer yourself, the main thing is to know how much maximum volume it supports. The replacement process is not difficult, you need to open the computer, unfasten the bar from the latches on the upper and lower sides and pull it out and install a new one instead. If you have two sticks with a small volume, then you can install one more capacious one, that is, you can choose how much you need on your PC.

You can also see the RAM on a laptop, it is slightly different from a computer one and not everyone can replace it. Since the laptop is assembled more compactly, it is better to contact a specialist for a replacement, at the same time he will tell you whether it supports RAM with a more capacious amount or not. I think you should not post screenshots of how to change the RAM on a computer or laptop, the Internet is full of such information, you can even find a video where this is shown in detail. We'll just tell you how to find out how much RAM is installed on your device.

How to find out how much RAM is on your computer or laptop.

Now let's see how to find out how much RAM is installed in the computer. In our example, we use a laptop with the Windows 8 operating system, everything is the same on the computer. On other versions of Windows, there should be similar steps, below is a way to find out the amount of installed RAM on Windows XP.
We call the menu on the side by directing the mouse pointer to one of the corners of the screen on the right side.
In the menu that opens, select "Settings" in the form of a gear.
Next, select "computer information".
And we see all the basic information about the computer, including the amount of installed RAM. Look at the screenshot attached below, in it I highlighted information about the RAM.

You can also open information about the computer in another way, suitable not only for Windows 7 or 8, but also for Windows XP.
On the desktop, click on the "My Computer" or "This Computer" shortcut, in the window that opens, on an empty space, click on the right mouse button (necessarily on an empty space, and not on any package or something else) and you will see the same information as shown in the picture above and also find out how much RAM is in your computer or laptop.

As you can see, nothing complicated, any user can easily find out how much RAM is on his PC.

I hope this article helped you and you found the information you need.
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