I've got 16GB of RAM installed in my laptop, with about 15.3GB usable. It used to handle tons of Chrome tabs and various extensions without any hiccups, but lately, it's been quite unreliable. I've noticed that even simple tasks like recording with OBS lead to random crashes. When I check the Task Manager, it often shows 90% RAM utilization, but when I look closer, I only seem to be using about 7GB. Currently, I see only three tasks using more than 100MB of RAM, totaling around 2,500MB, yet Task Manager displays this as '51% usage.' The slowdown started after a crash a few months back that required a Windows reinstall, during which a repair shop messed with my hard drive. I'm wondering if there's something wrong that could explain this odd behavior.
3 Answers
It might actually be using your RAM efficiently! Windows tends to cache frequently used applications in memory so they load faster when you need them. High memory usage isn’t inherently bad, and it won't cause crashes. What are your CPU and drive usages like when your laptop slows down?
If your laptop has an integrated GPU, that could be eating up a lot of your RAM, particularly when using recording software like OBS. I had a similar issue when using multiple displays with my integrated graphics. Once I got an external GPU, my performance improved significantly. Consider looking into that if your model supports it.
Task Manager isn't the best tool for assessing your RAM usage accurately. It can miss a lot of what's actually consuming RAM. I recommend using a tool like RAMmap to get a clearer picture of what's taking up your memory. Don't be misled by what Task Manager shows regarding cache and actual usage!
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload