Is it typical to need to restart in order to free up unused RAM?
Is it typical to need to restart in order to free up unused RAM?
I'm using Windows 11 24H2 and I keep my pc on 24/7. The problem is that after a couple of days, the ram usage swells up from
30-36% to 40-45% and I always use the same apps/games daily, which means I'm having to reboot every couple of days for Windows to go back to normal ram usage.
Is this normal?
My specs:
CPU:FX6300
MB: Asus M5A78L-M LX V2
RAM: 16GB DDR3
GPU: R7 240 2GB
4HDDs + 1 SSD
PSU: Gamemax GP 650
Was die Installation des Betriebssystems von Grund auf durchgeführt oder wurde sie über den internen Upgrade-Pfad von Windows 10 installiert? Zusätzlich möchte ich betonen, dass diese PSU nicht etwas wäre, das ich an meinem PC angeschlossen hätte, geschweige denn kontinuierlich laufen lassen würde. Ich bin mir sicher, dass man gelegentlich die Systemabschaltung nutzen könnte, um der Plattform eine Pause zu gönnen, aber diese PSU ist zweifelhaft.
After the next restart, open Task Manager and Resource Monitor to monitor memory usage. The goal is to identify which applications are consuming memory, the extent of usage, and their speed. Keep checking continuously while working or playing. It might be some background process launched at startup or activated through Task Scheduler.
I frequently rely on Task Manager to monitor memory consumption. Apart from playing games casually, I maintain several applications running, including Brave and multiple Potplayer instances. These programs are responsible for increased RAM usage over time.
Unused ram is wasted memory.
Windows efficiently utilizes unused ram for file system caching.
When an application asks for more ram, a part of the file cache is released to meet that request.
TLDR - It's normal. You're not concerned unnecessarily.
And no, you don't need to restart frequently.
Will my memory consumption continue to rise without restarting regularly?
Brave and Potplayer are the main processes that begin utilizing additional RAM after a few days. I believe either one or both of these apps may start performing other background tasks. It could be due to file creation or loading, where data stored during shutdown is reloaded into RAM, increasing memory usage each time. I don’t know what information is being saved in certain files or why this happens. It might be because a process sends a signal, tries an update, or attempts a backup—whatever the case. Alternatively, it could simply be a bug or corruption issue. The source of these apps isn’t clear. Media players seem likely. They might use more memory just to improve access to playlists or music files. As before, unless there’s a significant impact on system performance, it’s probably nothing to worry about. It could be one of those "if it ain't broken then don't fix it" scenarios. Just keep monitoring; I wouldn’t expect RAM usage to grow endlessly. Windows might eventually switch to virtual memory at some point. Unless there’s a specific problem that can be fixed directly. You can also try Process Explorer (free from Microsoft) to investigate further.
Brave and Potplayer are both browsers and media players. They were obtained directly from their official websites.