I recently got a new PC a couple of months back, and I've noticed that it uses about 15.3 GB of RAM sitting idle. I never had issues with this amount of memory usage when I was using my old 8 GB laptop. It seems like over 50% of my RAM is being utilized even when I'm not actively doing anything. Is this normal, and what can I do to improve my system's performance? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
9 Answers
It seems that something's loading unnecessarily. I recommend checking your startup apps and services. You can use the msconfig tool to review running services and disable things you don’t need. Just so you know, my idle desktop in Linux uses only about 1.2GB, and even when I load several tabs, I usually max out around 5GB—even while running games!
It really depends on what's running in the background. More RAM generally means Windows will pull more data into memory for efficiency. Also, if you have a ton of browser tabs open, they can consume a large chunk of RAM without you even realizing it.
It seems like I encounter lag when I open another app and some Edge tabs that aren't even open are active, like having 30-40 listed when I thought I just had one. Could it be because of workspaces?
Are you using Chrome at all?
How much RAM do you actually have installed?
When you check your Task Manager, what processes tend to eat up most of your RAM? That can give you a clue about what's going on.
I see a lot of Edge tabs listed, even though I only have two open. Is there a way to share a screenshot?
It might sound strange, but unused RAM can actually be seen as wasted RAM. Windows tends to load data into memory in advance to make applications launch faster when you need them. So, the higher usage can mean that your system is preloading files for apps like your browser or games, which might actually boost your performance. If your PC feels a bit glitchy, try turning off Fast Startup—it can sometimes be buggy.
Yeah, Fast Startup isn't as useful anymore. To do a proper restart, you should hit the reboot option instead of just shutting down. Otherwise, Windows might not fully turn off!
Thanks for the insight! That makes a lot of sense!
Just a heads-up: the more RAM you have, the more your PC will use it as a resource. It’s similar with VRAM on your graphics card.
I totally relate! Once I upgraded from 16GB to 32GB, the difference was huge.