Check Available RAM Slots in Windows 11

In this post, I will show you how to check available RAM slots in Windows 11 using different methods. You can use multiple methods to find the free memory slots that are available on your Windows 11 and make a decision to upgrade.

Checking the upgradability options of a new PC or laptop is one of the most important considerations before making a purchase. Most laptops and desktop computers come with 8 GB or 16 GB of memory and Windows 11 already installed. However, you can only increase your memory limit (RAM) if the device you’re using supports it and has empty memory slots.

The memory upgrade option may not be available on some laptops because the memory module has been soldered to the motherboard, or it is not supported. The best thing to do in this situation is to buy a new laptop. Before you buy it, you can check to see if it can be upgraded.

If you’re running Windows 11 on your PC or laptop, you can use different methods to determine the total number of available memory slots. Whether or not you can upgrade them depends on your device, since most have a set amount of memory. Laptops are typically harder to upgrade, but desktop PCs are fairly straightforward.

Also Read: 2 Proven Ways to Update Apps on Windows 11 [Winget Upgrade]

Method 1: Use Windows 11 Task Manager to Find Available RAM Slots

You can use the task manager in Windows 11 to check if your PC has free RAM slots with the following steps: Right-click on the Windows 11 taskbar and select Task Manager. You can also use the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager.

When the Task Manager opens, click the Performance tab at the left and select Memory on the right. The memory section in the task manager shows the available RAM slots. You can find the number of slots next to the Slots Used option in the bottom-right section of the window. In this example, our PC has four slots, and both are being used. In addition, you can also find the speed of the RAM, its form factor, and the total hardware memory reserved.

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Method 2: Check RAM Slots in Windows 11 with CMD

You can use the command prompt to check RAM slots in Windows 11 PC. Open the Start menu, search for “command prompt,” and select the “Run as Administrator” option on the right. To check the total number of RAM slots through the command prompt, run the following command:

wmic Memphysical get MemoryDevices

The command prompt output shows the total number of memory slots in Windows 11.

To view the list of all the memory slots including the total size of each memory, run the below command.

wmic MemoryChip get BankLabel, DeviceLocator, Capacity

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Method 3: Find Windows 11 PC RAM Slots with PowerShell

You can run a simple PowerShell command to determine the Windows 11 PC RAM slots. To do that open the Start menu and search for ‘Windows PowerShell‘ and select the Run as Administrator option on the right.

In the PowerShell window, enter the following command to find out the RAM slots present on your Windows 11 PC.

Get-WmiObject -Class "Win32_PhysicalMemoryArray"

Find Windows 11 PC RAM Slots with PowerShell

Method 4: Use Speccy Tool to check available memory Slots in Windows 11

Speccy is a software by Piriform which is a system information utility that provides in-depth information about the computer and all of its hardware, all from within a well organized, intuitive interface. You can install Speccy on your Windows 11 PC to gather all the hardware information including free memory slots.

First download and install the Speccy tool on your Windows 11 computer. Launch the Speccy tool, select RAM in the left pane. On the right-hand side, the tool displays the following details about memory slots.

Total memory slots
Used memory slots
Free memory slots

In addition to determining the memory slots, Speccy shows the total RAM size, type of RAM – DDR4 or DDR5 and several details about the memory modules on your Windows PC.

Use Speccy Tool to check available RAM Slots in Windows 11

Must Read: How to Upgrade Windows 11 Home to Pro

Method 5: Check Available Memory Slots in Windows 11 using CPU-Z

CPU-Z is a third-party software that lets you view the available memory slots as well as the RAM type in Windows 11. It’s a free program for checking all kinds of hardware information about your PC. Download the latest version of CPU-Z on your Windows 11 PC.

To check the available Windows 11 memory slots using CPU-Z, launch the tool. Switch to the SPD tab and under the Memory Slot Selection, click the drop-down to determine the total RAM slots available on the computer. Each memory slot selection will reveal details about the memory module such as type of RAM, Module Size, Manufacturer of the memory, part number etc.

Check Available Memory Slots in Windows 11 using CPU-Z

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Method 6: Physically Check RAM Slots on Your Windows 11 PC

If you want to check the available RAM slots on your Windows 11 PC, you need to open up PC case and check the memory slots physically. This is a typical method that a computer technician uses when you would like to upgrade the memory on your PC.

Opening a laptop or computer may be difficult for home users, and doing so is not advised because it can be difficult to tell where your RAM slots are located in reality. For this reason, whenever you want to upgrade any component on your PC or laptop, I advise you to bring your laptop with you to a computer technician.

On both laptops and PCs, you can check the memory slots physically by opening the case. You can find the RAM installed in the motherboard’s DIMM slots. Generally, for laptops, you’ll find two RAM slots on the motherboard, whereas desktops can offer up to 4–8 RAM slots.

Location of DIMM slots on a desktop PC’s motherboard is shown in the screenshot below. The placement of the DIMM slots may differ depending on the motherboard, but they all have a similar appearance.

The laptop memory modules are smaller compared to desktop RAMs. When you open the back panel of your laptop, there is a dedicated memory section on the motherboard where you can find the available memory slots. Typically, there are 2 memory slots

Conclusion

This article covers multiple methods to check available RAM slots in Windows 11 and I hope it helps you. You can use any of the methods to determine the total RAM slots and the free slots available for upgrade. If you need any clarification, do let me know in the comments section.