How to Check RAM on Ubuntu Linux: Step-by-Step Guide

This article describes the steps to check the system RAM on Ubuntu Linux.

Knowing the RAM installed on your computer with Ubuntu Linux may be useful when drawing up requirement specs. In addition, Ubuntu Linux has many tools that users can use to check available RAM on a machine.

Below, we’ll go through some of the tools you can use. There are some pros and cons to all of them. However, all should work similarly, except a few may provide more information than others.

With the steps below, you will be able to check the system RAM and gather the following information:

• RAM size
• Free RAM
• Type and speed of RAM

Check RAM size and speed on Ubuntu Linux

As stated above, knowing the RAM installed on your computer with Ubuntu Linux may come in handy when drawing up requirement specs.

Below are some of the tools to use to check the system RAM on Ubuntu Linux.

Ubuntu Linux has a centralized location for the majority of its settings. From system configurations to creating new users and updating, all can be done from the System Settings panel.

To get to System Settings, open the Activities overview and start typing Settings.

Alternatively, click on the System menu at the top-right corner of the top bar on your desktop.

On the System menu, select Settings, as highlighted below.

In the Settings app, scroll down the menu items on the left and click on the About tile.

On the System Settings -> About settings panel, locate the Memory line and see the memory installed on the System.

Check system memory using the command line

On Ubuntu Linux, users can use the terminal to view details of the system RAM. In addition, commands such as free, watch, top, and dmidecode can display more information.

You can use the free command with the -h command option to display the amount of free and used memory (RAM) in the System.

Ex.

free -h

The commands should output similar lines as below:

               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           1.9Gi       1.4Gi       113Mi        20Mi       440Mi       383Mi
Swap:          2.1Gi       109Mi       2.0Gi

Using the watch with the free command gives you live RAM information that refreshes every 2 seconds.

watch free

Another useful command to display stem RAM is the top command.

top

By default, the top command output is sorted by CPU consumption. However, you can press Shift+M to sort it by memory.

For more details, RAM information, including RAM types and slots used, use the commands below.

sudo dmidecode --type memory

The command should output similar lines to the one below.

# dmidecode 3.4
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 2.7 present.

Handle 0x0096, DMI type 16, 23 bytes
Physical Memory Array
	Location: System Board Or Motherboard
	Use: System Memory
	Error Correction Type: None
	Maximum Capacity: 3 GB
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Number Of Devices: 64

Handle 0x0097, DMI type 17, 40 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x0096
	Error Information Handle: No Error
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 2 GB
	Form Factor: DIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: RAM slot #0
	Bank Locator: RAM slot #0
	Type: DRAM
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: Unknown
	Manufacturer: VMware Virtual RAM
	Serial Number: 00000001
	Asset Tag: Not Specified
	Part Number: VMW-2048MB
	Rank: Unknown
	Configured Memory Speed: 4800 MT/s
	Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V
	Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V

That should do it!

Conclusion:

• Understanding your system’s RAM specifications is crucial for requirement specifications
• Ubuntu Linux provides various tools to check system RAM, including the System Settings panel and command line tools
• By following the outlined steps, you can retrieve essential information such as RAM size, free RAM, and type/speed of RAM
• Utilize the command line tools such as free, watch, top, and dmidecode to access in-depth RAM details
• Checking and displaying RAM details on Ubuntu Linux is an important step in system maintenance and troubleshooting