How to Determine how Much RAM is in Your Computer

The Random Access Memory (RAM) determines the number of programs you can run on your computer simultaneously without experiencing slow performance on any program. A higher RAM allows you to work more efficiently on your computer. The first thing you need to check in your system configuration, after determining the processor speed, is the quantity of RAM installed. Here’s how to find out how much RAM is in your computer.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

For Windows OS (PC Users)

1. Start your computer. Wait for Windows to load.

2. Click on “My Computer” and select “Properties” using right-click in the Explorer window. This will open “Systems Properties.”

3. Click on the “General” tab. Here you can view the physical memory installed on your computer. The amount indicated is the total RAM installed on your computer. RAM is usually 32 MB, 64 MB or 128 MB in older PC versions. Newer PCs are usually equipped with 256 MB, 512 MB or even higher RAM.

4. Check the usage. To know the currently used RAM (based on programs you are running), open the taskbar or press “Ctrl + Alt + Del” to open a pop-up window. Click on “Task Manager.” Click the “Performance” tab. You can view the amount of memory currently used by each program running on your PC.

For Macintosh OS (Mac OS X Users)

5. Start your computer and wait for Mac OS X to load.

6. Choose “About This Mac” from the menu located on the top-left corner of the screen.

7. Open “Activity Monitor” from the Utilities folder.

8. Click the “System Memory” button located at the bottom of the window. You will see how much RAM is installed and the current usage.

Tips & Warnings

• Upgrade the RAM on your computer if you are experiencing slow performance on your programs.
• Know the type of RAM installed on your computer. RAM comes in three types: SDRAM, DDR and Rambus DRAM (RDRAM). The SDRAM often slows your computer down and is usually not extensible. The DDR RAM is much faster and doubles your data transfer rate. The EDO RAM and DRAM are obsolete, as they gave up to 5 percent performance on their memory storage.
• The upgrade option depends on the type of RAM and motherboard of your computer.