The easiest way to check your computer’s RAM in Windows is to use the Task Manager. The Task Manager will tell you how much RAM is currently being used by your computer and programs that are running.
1. Access the Task Manager
To open the Task Manager, right-click on the taskbar at the bottom of your screen. Select “Task Manager” from the menu that appears and the Task Manager window will open.
2. Check RAM Usage
In the Task Manager window, click on the “Performance” tab. This tab contains detailed information about your computer’s resources and performance. In the top line of the window, you’ll find information about your computer’s RAM usage.
3. Reading the Information
In some versions of Windows, the RAM usage will be displayed as a percentage of your computer’s total available RAM. If this is the case, it’s easy to find out exactly how much RAM your computer has. Just take the number of gigabytes indicated in the “Installed memory (RAM)” portion of the window and divide it by the percentage that is being used.
For example, if your computer has 8GB of RAM and the Task Manager indicates that 50% of the RAM is being used, then 4GB of RAM is being used.
In other versions of Windows, the amount of RAM being used is given in gigabytes instead of being given as a percentage. In this case, it’s easy to find out how much RAM your computer has: just look for the “Installed memory (RAM)” information in the Task Manager window.
4. Closing the Task Manager
When you’re finished checking your computer’s RAM usage, close the Task Manager window by clicking on the “X” in the upper-right corner.
5. Further Resources
To learn more about using the Task Manager, see the Microsoft Support website. For general information about optimizing your computer’s performance, see the Microsoft support page on performance tuning.