How can I know the type of RAM in your computer?.
Random-access memory comes in different types, capacities, speeds, and manufacturers. If you ever want to upgrade your RAM or need to check if your system meets certain minimum requirements. You will have to check the type of RAM on your PC. While the jargon and numbers may seem daunting at first. It’s actually quite easy to determine what kind of RAM your system has.
A Crash Course on RAM
Before we go into detail on how to check the type of RAM installed on your computer, it’s important to make sure we’re all on the same page. Random-access memory or random access memory is a special type of very fast computer memory.
It differs from your hard drive, which is relatively slow and non-volatile. That is, your hard drive does not lose its data when the power is turned off. RAM, on the other hand, is volatile, which, as you might have guessed, means that its data disappears when electrons stop flowing.
RAM is critical to a computer because the CPU (Central Processing Unit) needs to have quick access to the next set of data it needs to process. In this way, applications and related data are loaded into RAM, which ensures the maximum performance of the computer.
If you would like to learn more about the technical details of RAM, see the “Understanding RAM Types and Usage” section.
Checking Your Motherboard Manual or Website
If you just want to know what type of memory your computer supports, perhaps for upgrade purposes, you can find this information in your motherboard manual.
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You can also google your motherboard model number to find the product detail page. This will list the exact types of RAM it supports. While this does not tell you the exact speed and capacity of the RAM that is currently installed on the system, it does tell you what type of DDR the system supports and at what speeds it supports it. It should also tell you what the maximum amount of RAM you can install.
Use CPU-Z to See Your RAM Type
One of the easiest ways to get this information is to use the free CPU-Z app. We have been using it for many years to quickly check the most important technical details of the system. After downloading and installing CPU-Z, run the program and select the “Memory” tab as shown here.
In the General section, look for Type. This tells you which generation of DDR memory is installed on your system. In the “Size” section, you can see how much RAM is installed.
Then go to the “SPD” tab. The information reported by each individual RAM module is displayed here. If all modules on your system are identical, you do not need to switch between them in the Select Memory Slot drop-down list.
As you can see here, this computer uses Samsung memory, with 8GB of RAM per module. This system uses DDR4-2667 RAM. You can check the number of available slots by counting them in the memory slot selection drop-down menu.
You don’t need to worry about the timing table in the bottom half of the window, but if you’re wondering what these numbers mean, you can read more in our article on overclocking RAM.
Getting Your RAM Info from the Command Prompt or PowerShell
Sometimes you get stuck in a situation where you don’t have access to the Windows GUI, or perhaps you just prefer the cold endless black depth of the command line. In any case, there is a command line instruction that lets you know what is currently installed on your system. All you have to do is enter:
wmic MEMORYCHIP get BankLabel, DeviceLocator, Capacity, Speed
Details of each RAM module are shown here.
It displays the size and speed of each memory module, but does not indicate the type of memory. If you need this information, we need to add some bits to the command.
wmic MEMORYCHIP get BankLabel, DeviceLocator, MemoryType, TypeDetail, Capacity, Speed
In the MemoryType section, you will see the numeric code. This code tells you what type of DDR is installed on the system:
- 22 – DDR2
- 25 – DDR3
- 26 – DDR4
- < / ul>These are just a few of the more common types of RAM, but if you see a number not listed above, you can find a complete list of memory type codes in the Microsoft documentation.
The command line is being gradually replaced by PowerShell, if you prefer to use that you can, but the command is slightly different:
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PhysicalMemory | Formatting Table Capacity, Manufacturer, Memory Type, Shape Factor, Name, Configured Clock, Speed, Device Pointer, Serial Number -AutoSize
Check the BIOS
No matter what operating system your computer is using, you can often get information about what type of RAM your system is using even before you boot into it. The BIOS of a computer usually has a section for memory that should show you detailed information about the installed RAM. This usually includes the generation of DDR memory you are using, the size of each module, and the speed at which it runs.
The methods for entering BIOS differ on different computers. This is usually a simple keystroke immediately after turning on the computer. For example, you often have to press the Delete key or perhaps F12 several times to enter the BIOS. The specific key is usually displayed on the screen when the computer starts up, but it is also present in the motherboard manual.
Look at the Module’s Notches and Pins
The final way to determine what type of RAM your computer has is to physically check the memory modules. This will require removing them from their slots, so only do this if you enjoy the process.
Details of the RAM modules can be read on the label affixed to the DIMMs. But you can also identify them by the location of the notch, as shown in this figure.
What About Laptop RAM?
Please see the “Can you upgrade an old laptop” section for more information on laptop RAM.
What’s Your Type?
Knowing what type of RAM your system has gives you the ability to get an idea of how your computer should be performing and how much you can upgrade it.
There is always debate about what effect RAM speed has on real-world applications, but again, if your system supports a higher RAM speed class and your applications in particular can benefit from it, it is worth having this information.
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How can I know the type of RAM in your computer?
How can I know the type of RAM in your computer?