Is high memory consumption still present even after a fresh Windows 11 setup?
Is high memory consumption still present even after a fresh Windows 11 setup?
Hello.
I'm experiencing an unexpected spike in memory consumption right after the system boots up on Windows 11. As a developer, I usually keep my environment simple with only essential apps running. Yet, my memory usage remains unusually high, and pinpointing the exact cause is proving difficult.
I recently ran a full disk wipe and reinstalled Windows 11 to tackle this problem. Interestingly, the memory usage didn't improve significantly. This has led me to think about a few potential reasons:
- A driver-related memory leak, possibly tied to AMD chipset or NVIDIA drivers
- An update to Windows 11 that altered memory caching behavior
- Possible lingering malware that might be surviving the wipe, maybe at the BIOS level
- It could just be normal system behavior that I'm overanalyzing
I've attached screenshots from the task manager for reference:
- My user processes account is only 3.5GB, with the rest unaccounted for.
- The memory usage pattern appears unusual and hard to trace.
Windows does use memory for optimization and caching, but tracking where the allocation happens is proving tricky. The situation feels frustrating, especially since I understand these practices are standard.
Linux seems to be a more attractive alternative at the moment. Would anyone have faced similar problems or have suggestions? Standard troubleshooting guides haven't helped so far.
EDIT:
My system specifications are as follows:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12-Core Processor @ 4.70 GHz
Installed RAM: 32.0 GB (31.1 GB usable) @ 5200mhz
System type: 64-bit OS, x64 architecture
GPU: Nvidia Rtx 4080
CPU cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 240 Black
Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 RGB Black TG Light Tint
Motherboard: ASUS PRIME X670-P WIFI
Memory: 32GB PC5-41600 DDR5 SDRAM Kingston
HDD: WDC WD10EZRX-00L4HB0 1TB SATA
SSD: WDC WDS100T2B0A-00SM50 1TB SATA
SSD-M2-NVME: KINGSTON SKC3000D2048G 2TB, WD Blue SN580 2TB, Lexar 512GB SSD
PSU: Not remembered – likely a 850W Platinun Seasonic unit
Monitor: LG 1080p 144Hz Gsync 27-inch display
I recently carried out a full system wipe and reinstalled Windows 11 just to resolve this problem.
Did you recreate the bootable USB installer using Windows Media Creation Tools? Did you set up the installation without an internet connection? If so, did you access the website to allow the OS to download drivers?
System details:
When sharing a troubleshooting thread, it's standard to provide complete system specifications. Please share your specs in the same format as before:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
Please include the age of the power supply unit along with its make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this time.
Installed RAM: 32.0 GB (31.1 GB available)
You may also consider disabling the integrated graphics in BIOS if you don’t use the built-in display outputs on your motherboard. Additionally, you might want to disable AMD’s E.X.P.O in BIOS.
Everyone notices around 80% of the RAM being used.
Task manager might give false impressions when checking RAM consumption.
Windows keeps unused code in RAM just in case it needs to be reused quickly.
When an application attempts to access code not currently stored in RAM, it must retrieve it from the page file and possibly overwrite older data. This process is known as a hard page fault, and while it persists, the app halts until resolved.
The solution can be challenging if the page file resides on a slower storage device.
While actively running, launch Task Manager and switch to the Resource Monitor or Memory tab.
Examine the hard fault rate column.
If values exceed zero, consider increasing RAM allocation.
Yes, the operating system was set up with the Ethernet cable connected.
Yes, it was installed the drivers remotely via the internet.
Besides the drivers, it recognized and installed my motherboards: LAN, Audio, Chipset drivers.
I also added Nvidia drivers using the nvidia experience platform.
Here are my complete specifications:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (12-Core) at 4.70 GHz
Installed RAM: 32.0 GB (31.1 GB available), 5200mhz
System type: 64-bit OS, x64 processor
GPU: Nvidia Rtx 4080
CPU cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 240 Black
Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 RGB Black with light tint
Motherboard: ASUS PRIME X670-P WIFI
Memory: 32GB PC5-41600 DDR5 SDRAM Kingston
Storage: HDD – WDC WD10EZRX-00L4HB0 (1TB, SATA)
SSD: WDC WDS100T2B0A-00SM50 (1TB, SATA)
SSD-M2-NVME: KINGSTON SKC3000D2048G (2TB), WD Blue SN580 (2TB), Lexar 512GB SSD
Power supply: Not remembered; likely a 850W Platinun Seasonic unit
Monitor: LG 1080p 144Hz Gsync, 27-inch display
AMD E.X.P.O. is active
iGPU support is also enabled, though I plan to disable it.
It seems that turning off the integrated graphics reduced memory consumption by half. This is possible because the dedicated GPU was active while the iGPU was disabled, and the system allocated a large portion of hardware resources. Additionally, the reported 1GB of HW reserved might not reflect the actual usage due to how Windows calculates limits.
No, the OS was set up using the Ethernet cable connected.
Follow the instructions: install in offline mode; watch the video at the provided link.
Ensure the Ethernet is unplugged and only the target drive is connected while others are off.
Drivers were downloaded remotely over the internet.
After disconnecting the internet, run the installer with elevated permissions to obtain all necessary drivers, including those from Nvidia via their experience.
RAM details: 32.0 GB total (31.1 GB available), clock speed 5200mhz.
Please share a link to your RAM kit so you can verify the specifications.
Motherboard model: ASUS PRIME X670-P WIFI
The BIOS version for your system was not specified.
I understand that the integrated GPU typically shares memory with the GPU, but this issue has only recently become apparent.
I've been using this build for some time and only recently began observing increased memory consumption.
That's why I kept the iGPU enabled in the BIOS, as I hadn't thought about it being an issue.
What causes such high usage?