There are lots of techniques to upgrade your computer to keep its performance on par, the easiest of which it to install additional RAM on your system. The actual physical installation is about as basic as it gets with computers, but finding out exactly what type of RAM your computer requirements can be a challenge. There is no pre-installed software in Windows to do this for you. In its place, you can turn to one of two freeware options.

CPUID
CPUID is a completely free piece of system analysis software. It will present you with more information than you require, and there are also other options to navigate through. That being said, it's hardly clumsy and you will find everything you need to know about your RAM in less than a minute. First download and install CPUID, and then run the program. Click the "Mainboard" icon and then choose "Physical Memory." The bottom half of the screen will present information about your RAM. Look for its "Type"--such as DDR2-533. This is the type of RAM you should to buy to upgrade your computer.

System Information for Windows (SIW)
System Information for Windows (SIW) is a more basic version of system analysis software. Even though it presents slightly less information than CPUID that also means that there's less to navigate through. It will available both a freeware and pro version. The freeware version will suffice for this task. Download and install SIW. Run the program and then click "Hardware" and then "Memory." In the window to the right, you'll be presented with information about your RAM. Look for the "Type" and "Speed" of your RAM, such as DDR2 and 533. This is what type of RAM you will require to upgrade your computer.