It's running with high memory usage even when not in use.
It's running with high memory usage even when not in use.
I was idle on my computer and wanted to see how much RAM it was using. It’s been acting a bit slow lately, so I figured out the cause. Right now I’m using 6GB of RAM while nothing is running in the background. I’ve already removed a lot of unnecessary software, but it’s still consuming so much memory. If anyone has any advice, please let me know. Thanks!
Review the Processes section to identify which applications are consuming the most memory.
PCs typically run between 2 GB and 3.5 GB of RAM when idle. Many autostart programs, such as Razer Synapse or Oculus Client, still leave some background processes running even when disabled. Edge also consumes a significant amount of memory—around 30 MB—or more, along with other active tasks.
It probably contains unnecessary software bundled during an OEM Windows setup for a laptop.
Typically, there are numerous elements at play. Programs might remain active even when not in use, which can be harmless such as startup scripts or harmful like malware. Chrome and Edge often load automatically for quicker launch and may remain stored in memory after closing. A program suffers from a memory leak, continuously requesting space without releasing it afterward. Windows generally handles this by clearing unused memory when the process ends (except kernel mode). For reference, if a developer works in languages like C# or Python, garbage collection runs quietly in the background. Depending on your system’s RAM capacity, Windows might have preloaded frequently used applications and libraries into memory for efficiency. The OS also employs a cache in RAM to boost performance, which is periodically refreshed. Integrated graphics can occupy space for framebuffers and other essential functions, though these are often not visible and subtract from available RAM. Similarly, EFI utilizes its own storage as needed.
It seems the performance is quite typical for a Windows 11 laptop on an 8GB system. Right after startup, RAM usage usually hovers around 5.3GB. After a fresh install with a lighter image, it drops to about 4.1–4.3GB. In contrast, a VM running a slimmed version shows lower idle usage—around 1.9GB—while the standard Windows 11 in a VM uses roughly 2.4–2.6GB.