Microsoft says a series of changes to the way Windows 11 manages memory could help PCs with 8GB of RAM run significantly smoother.

Pavan Davuluri, Executive Vice President of Windows and Devices at Microsoft, said the company is “raising the bar” for Windows 11 responsiveness. In internal testing, computers with 8GB of RAM responded up to 20% faster, while multitasking performance improved up to 40%.

Microsoft is making changes in three main directions, including using available RAM more effectively, prioritizing operations that need immediate response when the machine is under load, and reducing the amount of memory consumed by Windows and important applications. The company admits that machines with 16GB or 32GB of RAM can still handle larger workloads, but believes that 8GB will now struggle less in normal use.

Windows can hold an additional 2GB of data in RAM

According to Microsoft, the fact that RAM is almost used up does not mean the computer is having problems. Windows often takes advantage of free memory to keep applications and data available, so users can get back to work faster instead of having to reload from storage.

One of the important changes lies in the memory compression mechanism. Windows 11 is adjusting when to compress data, when to move inactive data to storage, and when to return it to RAM, especially on systems with only 8GB of memory.

Microsoft announced advances on 8GB RAM machines.

Thanks to the new management, Microsoft says Windows can keep up to 2GB more active data in RAM instead of moving to an SSD. This reduces the need for apps or browser tabs open in the background to reload when the user returns.

Less frequently used components also have their memory footprint reduced. On machines with up to 8GB of RAM, Widgets are only loaded when the user opens them, thereby reducing committed memory by about 200MB during the time the component is inactive.

Microsoft Edge now puts inactive tabs to sleep after 15 minutes by default, instead of two hours before. The Microsoft 365 application suite is also optimized by the company to reduce about 900MB of committed memory, creating more space for other programs.

8GB RAM is better, but cannot replace 16GB

Microsoft tested the changes on more than 20,000 computers in its lab, including many systems using 8GB of RAM. To receive the new improvements, users need to update to Windows 11 26H2, build 26300.9818 or later.

Although the numbers 20% and 40% are quite impressive, this is still the highest result in tests conducted by Microsoft. Actual improvement may vary depending on processor, storage speed, number of background applications, and type of user tasks.

The new optimizations are especially useful for consumer laptops, school computers, and systems that cannot upgrade RAM. The ability to keep more data in memory can reduce browser tab reloads, slow application responses, or freezing when switching between multiple windows.

However, Microsoft does not confirm that 8GB of RAM can completely replace 16GB or 32GB. People who regularly edit videos, process large files, play games, or run multiple heavy software at the same time can clearly benefit from higher memory capacity.