Our computers are made up of several different components that work together to build a cohesive, multi-purpose system. But RAM is one of the most important components of a computer, and in addition to its great capacity, RAM speed is also very important. In this article, we will discuss how to check the RAM speed in Windows.
1. Take advantage of the Windows Task Manager
In Windows 8, 8.1, 10 and 11 you can use the “Task Manager” (Windows Task Manager) to check the speed of RAM. This is not possible in Windows 7 and earlier versions, so if you are using these versions, see the next solution in this article.
There are many ways to open Task Manager. For example, you can move your mouse pointer to the taskbar and after right-clicking on it, select the Task Manager option. You will also see the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Usually in the first instance, a very simple version of this tool is displayed, so you have to click on the View more option. Then you should go to the Performance tab where you will see the numbers related to the processor, RAM and GPU. To check the RAM speed, you should refer to the Memory section.
At the bottom of the chart, you can see information about the form of RAM, the number of slots occupied and, of course, the speed provided. For example, in the image above, you can see that the RAM in question uses a speed of 3600 MHz, which is a very good speed. Most DDR4 RAMs have speeds between 2133 and 3600 MHz. Some professional DDR4 RAMs also offer speeds in excess of 4,000 MHz. The maximum speed of DDR3 RAMs also reaches 1866 MHz.
2. Check the RAM speed with CPU-Z program
CPU-Z is one of the tools that provides various information about the computer and for example we can refer to the specifications of the processor and RAM. As we said at the beginning of this article, if your system is based on older versions of Windows, you can use this tool to be aware of system RAM speed.
There are several different programs in this area, but overall CPU-Z is very light and is highly compatible with all types of different versions of Windows. First of all, you need to download the CPU-Z program using this link . Although there are different versions, we recommend that you download and install the latest version provided. The latest version of the program supports DDR5 RAM and Intel Alder Lake series processors. After installation, go to the Memory tab.
As you can see in the picture, 1799.6 MHz is displayed in the Uncore Frequency and DRAM Frequency sections. You may be wondering why, like Task Manager, 3600 MHz is not shown as RAM speed. This goes back to the concept of DDR. DDR stands for Double Data Rate, which means that two data units are moved per clock cycle instead of one. But the CPU-Z program provides these numbers based on SDR, which means you have to multiply the numbers in this section by 2.
Why is it so important to know the speed of Ram?
There are several reasons for the importance of being aware of system RAM speed. For example, if you have assembled a computer case, you can see if the RAM is working properly by knowing the speed of the RAM.
One of the most common mistakes people make when assembling a computer case is that they do not pay much attention to the XMP profile specification in the BIOS. Doing so can slow down the RAM, resulting in poorer system performance than expected.
Also, after upgrading the RAM, it is better to check the speed provided by it. For example, if you bought a 2666 MHz RAM for your laptop, but the RAM in the system has a speed of 2400 MHz, this will slow down the new RAM, and if you do not check this, you will not be aware of such a problem. .
Also, even if you replace all the laptop RAMs, your system may not offer more than 2400 MHz. That’s why you should check its speed before and after upgrading the RAM.
Why is Ram speed important?
Computer RAM speed in simple language plays an important role in CPU data transfer speed. In DDR4 RAMs, the speed is usually between 2133 and 3600 MHz. When buying a new system or RAM, you can often see the RAM speed in the specifications section. For example, for DDR4 RAM with a speed of 3200 MHz, the title is DDR4-3200.
If you see the phrase PC4 in its name, it means that the desired speed is multiplied by 8. For example, PC4-25600 means you are dealing with 3200 MHz RAM. Of course, there are other important criteria in terms of RAM performance, and for example, we can refer to the amount of CAS latency, which usually increases with increasing speed, and this increase in latency has a negative effect on performance.
But overall, the faster the RAM, the better. If you are a gamer, high RAM speed can enhance the gaming experience to some extent. Of course, as the speed of Ram increases, so does its price. Therefore, to buy RAM, you should pay attention to the system specifications and other criteria, but in any case, we can not hide the great importance of system RAM speed.
