Windows 11 RAM Gluttony Prompting Microsoft Fix Before Year-End
Microsoft has acknowledged that Windows 11 is consuming too much idle RAM on 8GB machines, using up to 6GB of memory at a time. This leaves little room for actual work and can make laptops feel sluggish even before opening an app.
The company promises a fix by the end of 2026, which will optimize Windows 11 for 8GB systems and improve boot times, lock screen speed, and Windows Hello authentication. Internal benchmarks show meaningful gains, but no public Insider Preview build has these changes yet.
A global DRAM shortage is forcing PC makers to ship more machines with 8GB as the default configuration, making it essential for Microsoft to close the gap with Apple's 8GB MacBook, which consistently outperforms comparable Windows laptops in stress tests.