I'm running Windows 11 Home 25H2 on a Dell laptop with 8GB of RAM and an Intel/Realtek chipset. My browser and visible background apps appear to use only around 1–2GB, but Task Manager regularly shows 85–90% memory usage, with Available memory sometimes falling below 1GB. The current figures are 6.7/7.7GB in use and 9.4/14.2GB committed. Startup apps are limited to services such as Realtek Audio, Windows Security, and Waves, and I removed McAfee. Could integrated graphics, cached memory, or something else explain the difference, and is upgrading the RAM the practical solution?
4 Answers
The enabled startup items you listed don’t sound like the main cause, and removing McAfee was reasonable since Windows Security is usually sufficient for basic protection. Check Task Manager sorted by Memory, then open Resource Monitor and inspect the Standby, Modified, and Hardware Reserved categories. If the laptop is constantly paging, stuttering, or approaching 100%, moving to 16GB RAM is likely the most effective fix. Windows can use free RAM for caching, but 8GB leaves very little headroom.
The integrated graphics may reserve some of your system RAM, potentially around 1–2GB depending on the laptop configuration. You can check the Hardware reserved figure in Task Manager or look in Resource Monitor for a more detailed breakdown. I wouldn’t change BIOS settings unless you know exactly what the option does, though; it probably won’t make a major difference compared with simply having more RAM.
With only 8GB, this amount of usage isn’t especially surprising on Windows 11. The app totals you see don’t include every part of system memory, such as the kernel, drivers, memory compression, file cache, and hardware-reserved memory. The committed value also includes memory backed by the page file, so it won’t match the visible app total. The important question is whether the system becomes slow or reaches 100% usage regularly.
An upgrade is the straightforward option if the Dell supports it. Before spending money, confirm whether the memory is replaceable or soldered and check the laptop’s maximum supported capacity. A clean reinstall or switching operating systems generally shouldn’t be the first step unless diagnostics show a real software problem; 8GB is simply a tight amount for current Windows use.
That makes sense. I was hoping there was a setting I had missed, but upgrading seems safer than changing BIOS options or trying an unfamiliar operating system.