The utility free examines RAM usage. Details of both free and used memory (and swap areas) are shown:

ester@linux:~> free
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:        515584     501704      13880          0      73040     334592
-/+ buffers/cache:      94072     421512
Swap:       658656          0     658656

The options -b,-k,-m,-g show output in bytes, KB, MB, or GB, respectively. The parameter -d delay ensures that the display is refreshed every delay seconds. For example, free -d 1.5 produces an update every 1.5 seconds.