Many times, users want to know if it is possible to upgrade their equipment in terms of RAM. Sometimes for software needs we are in the position to implement more memory. Or we simply would like to change modules to improve the speed of it and thus gain performance. This begs the question: how can we know which RAM slots are empty in our PC? Whether you have a laptop or a PC, there are many situations where you might need to know how many RAM slots you have available. On PC, it is simpler. Indeed, modern cases usually include windows to check the inside. But on laptops it gets complicated and many do not know how to do it. That is one of the reasons for this post. Read on to learn how to know the empty RAM slots of your PC.
How to check for empty RAM slots
As with everything in life, there are several methods to find out exactly which slots are available. In addition, in some cases we can find out a lot more data that can be especially useful. We will see numerous methods, some by software and others by hardware. The best thing is that in most cases the result is successful. However, it is therefore best to have options to compare and be sure that the information is correct.
With Windows
The easiest way is to use Windows 10 or Windows 11. But at the same time it is the most basic and the one that less information contributes. For it is as simple as to press the right button of our mouse in the task bar so that the following menu is shown. Alternatively, you can press the combination Win+X.
It can also be achieved by pressing the Control + Alt + Delete keys. Next, click on the Task Manager. This way, you can know the empty RAM slots that your PC or laptop has in task manager, and it will open. At this point, we will have to go to the performance tab. Once there, click on the memory section, as shown in the following image.
In this section, at the bottom right, Windows 10 will indicate how many slots we have used. In my particular case, I still have one slot available. But in addition, our OS indicates the reserve we have for the integrated graphics and the speed of the same. If we need more specific information for a replacement of our memories or an expansion, we will need to know the exact modules, both their serial numbers and their latencies.
View empty RAM slots with CPU-Z
In this aspect, we can resort to more specialized programs without having to open our laptop or computer. For this, we recommend using the CPU-Z software. There you will find everything you need to download and set it up. The download and installation procedure is elementary. In fact, it behaves like almost any other Windows program. Once run, just click on the SPD tab. From there, this small but powerful program provides us with all possible data. In our particular case, we will see the following:
Correctly, our CPU-Z tells us that our modules are Micron Technology branded. Furthermore, its speed is 666MHz at 150V. We can go jumping between banks if we set the upper tab, so we will see what type of module has each slot in particular. This is the specific memory section where each slot will mark the model, type, serial number or latency. However, the way to know if we actually have free slots is precisely by changing the slot in the drop-down menu of this section.
If the program can read the SPD from the RAM, it will mark the data. If it is empty, the data will be blank, so it is a very intriguing way to see the empty RAM slots and especially to know which ones have a specific module installed. In the Memory section of the same program, we can see if we have Dual Channel or Quad Channel configuration. This depends on the platform. Because it is one thing to have two or four modules, and another that they are well-placed to enable these key technologies.
AIDA64 Extreme
Another equally valid and more powerful method is to use the AIDA 64 software, a much more complete program than CPU-Z. It also has a trial version that can be used free of charge. We recommend the Extreme version as it is more specialized and has specific options, although for checking how many empty RAM slots our PC has, it is not influential as such.
Assuming that we have our software already registered, accessing the summary menu we will have the same information that CPU-Z gave us. However, we will have many more options, test, benchmark and general information of our equipment. For the ones that concern us, we will see something similar to this:
Where we will also see details such as the type of memory (DDR3 in SO-DIMM format) which we cannot see with CPU-Z. There is more information available here, for example, in the Motherboard section, which is inside the equipment section. Here we have the most reliable information for what we are looking for, since it will indicate the type of bus, the bus width and above all the RAM slots supported by the motherboard.
Physically check your PC or laptop
This is either the simplest or the most complicated method, depending on the type of computer we are talking about. If you want to know how many modules you have installed or how many you can install in your PC, and it has a tower with a window, just look at it and see it in a second. This in laptops involves disassembling a cover or the entire bottom structure of the laptop to access the RAM. In this case, we will not only see the modules and get to know them thoroughly, but we will also see the empty RAM slots in our laptop.
It’s not the easiest thing to do, and in the case of disassembling the entire lower housing it may mean loss of warranty according to the manufacturer. However, you won’t find anything more reliable than that at the same time. OK, ultimately, we’ve seen how to know the empty RAM slots of your PC. Bye!
