See How Much RAM You Have on PC, Mac, Chromebook, & iPad

This wikiHow article teaches you how to find out how much Random Access Memory (or RAM) your computer or iPad has installed. RAM is often referred to by just “memory.” It’s partially responsible for ensuring that open programs run smoothly. RAM stores information that programs are using for quick access. You can check your RAM in Windows, macOS, and chromeOS using built-in menus. Checking the RAM on your iPad requires knowing the model number.

Things You Should Know

For Windows users, check your installed RAM by navigating to Settings > System > About > Installed RAM. Alternative, open the Task Manager with Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc to view your memory usage.
On macOS, to check your RAM go to Apple menu > About This Mac > Overview > Memory.
If you use a Chromebook, go to chrome://system in Google Chrome and expand the meminfo section.
To find your iPad’s memory amount, go to https://support.apple.com/en-us/108043 and locate your iPad model. Then, click the link to see its tech specs and RAM amount.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Windows Settings

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Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.^{[1]
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Click the gear-shaped icon in the lower-left side of the Start window. This will open the Settings window.^{[2]
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It's a laptop-shaped icon in the upper-left side of the window.^{[3]
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You'll find this in the lower-left corner of the System window. This opens a list of information about your computer.^{[4]
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It's in the "Device specifications" section near the middle of the page. The number to the right of the "Installed RAM" heading indicates how much RAM your PC has installed.
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Check your computer's RAM usage. If you want to see how your PC is using its RAM (or how much it's using at a given point in time), you can use the Task Manager program to do so.
- Doing this while running a program will give you an idea of how much RAM the program needs to run properly.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Windows Task Manager

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This will show you a menu with every task running on your computer. Here, you can check your memory usage.^{[5]
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The percentage in the header tells you how much of your RAM you’re using at a given moment. The numbers in the column give the exact amount of memory a process is using.^{[6]
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This opens the performance tab of the Task Manager.
This will show you how much RAM your computer is using and how much it has total. The number may be smaller than your PC’s nominal RAM. This might be because some RAM is dedicated to system tasks not shown in Task Manager, or because some RAM is reserved by hardware in your system.
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Look at the RAM specifications. You can see the following RAM attributes in the Memory section of the Performance tab:
- Speed - the rated speed for your installed RAM.
- Slots used - how many RAM slots currently have RAM installed. For example, you might have two 4 GB RAM sticks installed on your computer, making for a total of 8 GB of RAM.
- Form factor - the type of RAM installed on your computer.
- Hardware reserved - this is memory that has been reserved by hardware in your computer.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

macOS

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Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.^{[7]
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It's in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the About This Mac window.^{[8]
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Click the Overview tab. This tab is in the upper-left side of the About This Mac window.
- The Overview tab will usually open by default when you open About This Mac.
The number to the right of the "Memory" heading indicates how much RAM your Mac has installed, as well as what type of RAM you're using.
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Check your Mac's RAM usage. If you want to see how your Mac is using its RAM (or how much it's using at a given point in time), you can use the Activity Monitor program to do so.^{[9]
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- Doing this while running a program will give you an idea of how much RAM the program needs to run properly.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Chromebook

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This is the default web browser on Chromebooks. It's the icon with a red, green, and yellow circle surrounding a smaller blue circle.
Then, press enter to open the system specifications page.
This will open a list showing you a breakdown of your Chromebook’s memory.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

iPad Model Number

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This is typically located on the back cover of the device. You’ll use this to find the technical specifications (tech specs) for your tablet.
Go to https://support.apple.com/en-us/108043. This official Apple website lists every iPad’s model number.
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Find your iPad model. You can use your web browser’s find feature to locate the model number.
- The shortcut on Windows PCs to find text on a webpage is usually ctrl + f.
- For macOS, it’s typically cmd + f.
- On mobile web browsers, the find feature can be found in the More menu.
Where <iPad Model> is the model name for your tablet.^{[10]
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Scroll down to the Chip section. This is where your model’s RAM amount can be found.
- Alternatively, you can try the Smart Memory Lite app for iPad. It shows you the tablet’s total RAM and memory usage.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I identify which type of RAM? Either DDR3 or DDR4?

Community Answer

Open task manager by right-clicking the taskbar and clicking task manager. Then click the performance tab then click on memory. In the top right, you should see how much RAM you have and the type of ram installed.

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Is RAM is only used for reading and writing?

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RAM is only used for reading, writing, and storing data for an amount of time--usually until RAM is flushed or the data has been deleted.

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Do I need more RAM?

Community Answer

RAM is used to store data for programs that are running on your computer. If you are noticing slowdown while running multiple programs, you may be able to increase performance by adding more RAM. You don't need to get more RAM if you never exceed your available amount.

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Tips

The Smart Memory Lite app is available on both iPads and iPhones.

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RAM, also called "memory", is not the same as hard disk space; hard disk space is more properly known as "storage".

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You can check your computer's hard drive space as well.

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Warnings

32-bit versions of computers can only use up to 4 gigabytes of RAM, so installing any more than that is a waste of money.

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