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I have to monitor my computer physical memory (RAM) usage constantly when I'm working, because sometimes I will work with multiple applications (e.g Sublime Text, Photoshop, MS Visual Studio and Chrome with 10+ tabs open) - and I want to know what's the current RAM usage so I won't push it too far.

Currently, in order to monitor my computer's RAM usage, that's what I do:
Open Windows Task Manager → Go to Performance tab → Watch Memory box / Physical Memory: (Usage Percentage) at the bottom:

Windows Task Manager

However it's not convenient. Sometimes I will open 5 new tabs in Chrome and forget to monitor my RAM because the Windows Task Manager is minimized - only to find that something is going to crash because I'm using too much RAM, followed by my PC shutting down Chrome to free some memory.

What I want is to constantly view and monitor my computer's RAM usage in all of my application, including my browser.

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  • 2
    > so I won't push it too far. Unused RAM is wasted RAM, just like bandwidth. > something is going to crash because I'm using too much RAM Have you modified the swapfile settings or are low on space? You should be able to use as much memory as necessary via virtual-memory. When you use too much, Windows should automatically just page in/out from/to disk without issue unless you have manually limited virtual memory or are out of space on the pagefile volume(s).
    – Synetech
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 3:54
  • I have disabled pagefile because my virtual memory is out of space. It's a temporary issue, because I know I will have to do something about it soon, but I preferred to disable pagefile because otherwise it would fill up my C: drive to the last byte, causing my PC to reboot.
    – amiregelz
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 9:32
  • Ah, well then yes, you may have problems of you try to use too much memory.
    – Synetech
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 15:52
  • You'll notice when you're close to the limit due to more swapping Furthermore, 16 GiB RAM cost around 70 EUR currently so there is no excuse to have too little RAM.
    – Joey
    Commented Oct 27, 2012 at 14:31
  • Synetech: Unused RAM is used by the OS for caching recently accessed files to avoid a HDD round-trip, it's also used by the prefetcher. So there's no such thing as unused RAM.
    – Joey
    Commented Oct 27, 2012 at 14:32

8 Answers 8

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There are multiple software written for such a solution. Just a few after a quick google search:

And one that is quite light weight (but doesn't support any Windows version newer than XP):

Either way there are scores of these programmed for all kinds of specifics. So go ahead and choose any one of them. Also I don't think it would be a bad idea to go ahead and upgrade your RAM, 4GB is quite little.

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  • The first two look nice but I don't think they show the percentage and I need it to really stand out all the time. The third one is not compatible with any Windows version newer than XP.
    – amiregelz
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 9:58
  • Actually the second one (RAM CPU Taskbar for Windows 7) is great (very clear), I just wish it would also show the RAM usage percentage.
    – amiregelz
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 23:54
  • 4 GiB is not a small amount of RAM, it is actually quite a lot. My main PC, which i use 7 years after this post, has 1 GiB RAM, i do not see a reason why i should use 4GiB RAM or more (maybe 2 GiB).
    – 12431234123412341234123
    Commented Dec 11, 2019 at 14:06
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You can use any number of dock/bar/gadget/widget type of tools and programs. Some stay on top, some cut out their own chunk of the screen, some are transparent, some are pegged to the desktop, most are configurable.

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  • I'm glad that you include a built in solution. I had no idea that one was available under gadgets, and I think anyone asking this question would feel the same way.
    – jfa
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 14:39
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You wrote :

something is going to crash because I'm using too much RAM

What you mean by "crashing"? Normally if there's too much RAM usage the system start to "swap" from the RAM to the Pagefile.sys and not "crashing"... This swapping may slow down the performances but nothing else.

1) The Virtual Memory: RAM + Pagefile.sys can be increased by adding RAM or increasing the pagefile.sys...

2) The unused Memory is a lost Memory If you run many applications at the time they can't run faster when there's more unused memory...

3) The main bottleneck in performances don't comes from the lack of Memory but from the percentage of CPU / GPU usage. What you have to check is the peak usage of memory, the % of actual usage and the total CPU time.

BTW: check the CPU usage in your screen capture: 93% !

Now to check in "real time" the Memory usage I suggest you to use MS TechNet Sysinternals Process Explorer and set the columns to see the total CPU usage, the total GPU usage and the CPU time. Set the systray icons to see the graphics of the CPU history, GPU history and Physical Memory history as you want.

Process Explorer

Tray icons Process Explorer

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11
  • +1 for the crashing/pagefile/performance points.
    – mtone
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 1:43
  • Regarding the pagefile: currently both of my drives are completely full. I am going to upgrade to Windows 8 soon, and when I do I'll clean everything and set more appropriate drive sizes (at the moment my C: drives size is 40GB, which is way too low). My CPU Usage is usually between 1-40 so I think that's ok. Also, is there anything I should look for in MS TechNet Sysinternals Process Explorer to see what's causing my memory issue (or maybe 4GB of RAM is quite low nowadays and that's the only problem?).
    – amiregelz
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 9:27
  • In my very humble opinion, this is NOT a memory problem but an overload CPU problem. For the pagefile.sys, the best is to let Windows 7 manage it instead or giving it a specific size. BUT you say your HD is full?! May be the lack of space prevent W7 to increase the pagefile.sys when it's required... There's relation between the amount of RAM, the space used automatically by pagefile.sys (on the HD obviously!) and system load... BTW: why are you loading so much applications simultaneously? Is it really mandatory? :-/
    – climenole
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 9:44
  • For Memory specific application at Sysinternals check for VMmap, a process virtual and physical memory analysis utility and RAMmap. technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/dd535533.aspx and technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/sysinternals/ff700229 :)
    – climenole
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 9:49
  • Hey wait! You say in comments: «I have disabled pagefile because my virtual memory is out of space.». !!!!! THIS IS THE PROBLEM ::)
    – climenole
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 9:52
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Try Viorb Monitor! The software will show CPU, RAM usage and Internet download and Upload speed as well. And details about this software you would found in the description section of the link.

It's totally free!

Download link : https://sourceforge.net/projects/viorb-monitor/

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Penteract Taskbar Resource Meter.

enter image description here

  • It doesn't take up a lot of room on the taskbar because it's in the system tray.
  • It's in the Windows Store so you are not taking a chance of getting viruses.
  • You decide whether to show extended information or just cpu and ram.
  • It doesn't use a lot of cpu.
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Many of the above tools require Aero to run in the taskbar. If you have your computer set for best performance in the System > Advanced Settings > Performance tab, those won't show any graphic in the taskbar. Aero is a memory pig (as is windows 7).

Here is a great, lightweight (<1MB) memory monitoring tool that runs a % or MB meter in the system tray that provides configurable notifications and even memory defrag and will show the top memory offending processes upon right clicking on the systray icon:

http://www.carthagosoft.net/MemInfo.php

UPDATE 11/2017: I've been using MSI afterburner for over a year now and don't need anything MSI related or Aero. You can set multiple meters in the system tray for CPU, RAM, GPU, Temp, etc:

https://www.msi.com/page/afterburner%20

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3
  • Please read How do I recommend software for some tips as to how you should go about recommending software. At the very least you should provide more than just a link, if possible provide some additional information about the software itself such as what features it has and why it would be useful to the person who asked the question.
    – slhck
    Commented May 14, 2015 at 14:49
  • This reads like spam, even though it might not be—please see the tip slhck provided.
    – bwDraco
    Commented May 15, 2015 at 0:35
  • I read what slhck wrote (including the link), hence the reason I edited my post. All the necessary info is there now regardless of what it reads like.
    – Sum None
    Commented May 15, 2015 at 0:46
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rainmeter 3.3

It works on win7 without depends on Aero.

enter image description here

And it's highly customizable, you just modify what you want.

other software:

  • Taskbar Meters #depends on aero
  • Viorb Monitor #can't open it; java
  • rainmeter 4.5.11 #requires at least windows 7 with the platform update installed
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I just found rainmeter on Lifehacker which seems to be very nice.

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  • 1
    Please read How do I recommend software for some tips as to how you should go about recommending software. At the very least you should provide more than just a link, if possible provide some additional information about the software itself such as what features it has and why it would be useful to the person who asked the question.
    – Mokubai ♦
    Commented Jan 30, 2015 at 20:33

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