I have an HP laptop with an Intel i3 processor and 8GB of RAM. Even after disabling startup programs, background apps, suggestions, and other unnecessary features, memory usage stays around 75–80% when the laptop is sitting idle. I also close everything before playing Valorant on the lowest settings. Is this normal, or is something using too much memory?
3 Answers
8GB of RAM is becoming fairly limiting on modern versions of Windows. The operating system and basic background services can use a large portion before you even launch a game, so upgrading to 16GB would likely make the system feel smoother if your laptop supports it.
Check whether the laptop has upgradeable memory. If the RAM isn't soldered to the motherboard, adding another module or replacing the current one with 16GB total should help considerably. Before upgrading, Task Manager's memory details can also reveal whether a particular process is consuming an unusually large amount.
High memory usage by itself isn't necessarily a problem. Windows often uses available RAM for caching and then releases it when applications need more. Check Task Manager while Valorant is running and look for slowdowns, stuttering, or paging to disk rather than focusing only on the percentage. If the game runs normally and you aren't seeing errors, the usage may be harmless.
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