Running numerous applications simultaneously increases your RAM usage. you may lower thisbyclosing unnecessary applicationsfrom the foreground and the background.
Applications, like your browsers, might also use more memory than required.Removing extensionsand usingbrowsers that use less RAMare some other options.
Also, note thatmemory usage increases during Windows updates. So, it’s best toschedule them.
you may even enableSmart BoostinMicrosoft’s PC Manager. This automatically lowers RAM usage by clearing all temporary files.
Now, let’s dive into how you may lower RAM usage in greater detail.
Disable Background Applications
The first thing I recommend is ending unnecessary background applicationsfrom the Task Manager. This will completely close any application/process, or service, and free memory resources for the selected application.
Additional Tip:When removing a task from the background,check if any application is causing memory leaks. In such a case, you may follow our guide tofree memoryand re-install them immediately.
While you are here, I also advisedisabling all the unnecessary appsthat automatically run during startup and consume high memory.
Get to theStartup appstab and disable those with a ‘High‘ Startup impact.
Close Browser Extension
Browser extensions take up a significant amount of memory. These extensions take even more memory as you open more tabs. This means the system along with theweb browser lags and feels choppy.
So, if you want to lower RAM usage,remove any unnecessary extensions:
My Tip:Using a browser with aRAM limiterhelps you keep its RAM usage under a limit.
Pause Windows Update Temporarily
Memory usage is usually high during a major Windows update.
However, during this scenario, the Task Manager’s App sectionwon’t display any sign of high memory usage.
But in the background section, you will see that a Windows update component takes up a significant amount of memory.
If you see high RAM usage, get to the Windows Update section in Windows Settings and check if the system is installing or downloading any updates.
If yes, you need to stop the Windows update from services. I recommenddownloading and installing the updatewhen the PC is Idle.
Applications, like your browsers, might also use more memory than required.Removing extensionsand usingbrowsers that use less RAMis another option.
Since memory usage increases during Windows updates, alwaysschedule themuntil the PC becomes idle.
Use Microsoft PC Manager
You canuse Microsoft’s PC Managerto lower memory usageand clean all thetemporary files. Here’s how:
Upgrade Your RAM
I had similar issues with my old 8GB laptop. The above steps initially helped to significantly lower the RAM usage. However, after some time during heavy workload, the RAM usage increased again.
Toimprove the PC experience, the only thing that worked for me wasadding more RAM. This allowed me to use numerous applications simultaneously.
So, if the system constantly reaches high memory usage evenon idle, I recommend upgrading your RAM.
If adding more RAM is not possible, you can alwaysincrease VRAM.
Your system uses virtual memory, takenfrom the storage devices, to store unused excess data from the RAM. This way, you will have free memory available when necessary.
