Easily determine the maximum amount of RAM that can be installed on your computer using a simple command line.
Boosting a PC that has become a little sluggish over the years can be done in several ways. The easiest way is very often to replace an aging mechanical hard drive with an SSD. Most of the time this is enough to breathe new life into a PC that was believed to be at the end of its life.
But it is also sometimes necessary to take a look at the side of the installed RAM. Over time, RAM prices have dropped drastically, allowing as many people as possible to update a somewhat dated configuration at a lower cost. If installing RAM modules in a PC is within everyone’s reach, you still need to know the type of RAM to choose, and the maximum amount that can be installed on your computer. And a few command lines are enough to know everything.
1. Open the command prompt
Start by opening the Windows Command Prompt. To do this, you can click on the Start menu, search for Command Prompt, and double-click on the program to open it.
You can also access it by using the Windows + R keyboard shortcut and then running the cmd command in the Run window that appears.
2. Determine the maximum amount of installable RAM
To find out the maximum amount of RAM that can be installed on your PC, simply type the following command and validate with the Enter key.
wmic memphysical get MaxCapacity, MemoryDevices
The command prompt window should then display two pieces of information: the maximum capacity of installable RAM (MaxCapacity), and the number of existing slots (MemoryDevices).
Based on this information, you can decide how much RAM to install. In our example, our machine can only accommodate one RAM bar, with a maximum capacity of 16 GB (16777216 KB).
For a machine that would indicate, for example, a maximum RAM capacity of 16 GB but that has 2 slots, you will have to choose to install two 8 GB modules.
3. Determine the type of RAM to install
To know the type of RAM modules compatible with your machine, you will not need to enter a command line. A quick tour of the Windows 10 Task Manager is enough. To open it, click the Start menu and type its name, or use the Ctrl + Alt + Del key combination, then click Task Manager.
Then go to the Performance tab, and enter the section dedicated to Memory.
At the bottom of the window, you will find the specifications of the memory installed on your machine (speed and format in particular), as well as the number of memory locations available.