I have a Dell Inspiron 15 3511 running Windows 11 with 8GB of RAM. Even shortly after turning it on, Task Manager shows around 60–70% memory usage. I noticed several Dell and Intel processes running and wonder whether they are responsible, even though each one seems fairly small. Is this normal, and what can I do to improve memory usage? Simple fixes are welcome, but I'm also open to more thorough solutions.
3 Answers
The biggest practical improvement would be upgrading to 16GB if the laptop supports adding another 8GB module. Eight gigabytes is fairly limited for Windows 11, especially with a browser, updates, antivirus, and other applications running. You can also disable unnecessary startup programs through Task Manager, but avoid disabling essential Windows, security, touchpad, graphics, or hardware-related services just because they have Dell or Intel in their names.
You could do a clean Windows installation to remove manufacturer utilities and other preinstalled software, but that’s a more involved step and probably won’t transform an 8GB system. Increasing the paging-file size usually isn’t necessary because Windows manages it automatically. A lightweight Linux distribution is another option if you want the laptop to feel faster without buying memory, though it may require adjusting to different software and settings.
That level of usage is generally normal for Windows 11. The system uses available RAM for caching and background services, then releases it when applications need it. High usage by itself isn’t a problem unless memory is constantly near 100%, the laptop starts using the page file heavily, or everything becomes sluggish. Check Task Manager sorted by memory to see which programs are actually consuming the most.
Yes, it’s Windows 11. I was hoping there was a simple setting I had missed, but it sounds like the percentage alone isn’t necessarily bad.