Microsoft is again highlighting several new Windows 11 optimizations to improve performance on devices with just 8GB of RAM. Through adjusting memory compression and process prioritization, it claims 8GB laptops and desktops should now respond up to 20% faster, with key apps loading 33% quicker and multitasking made up to 40% more efficient.
Microsoft first began touting the “up to 20% more responsive” figure last month, when it claimed to have improved its operating system’s RAM usage enough to speed up operations on 8GB portable PCs. Tests at Windows Latest found that real-world use often fell short of this claim: While the tester freed up 2GB of RAM on his 16GB laptop, the RAM on his 8GB device didn’t budge. Now, Microsoft is not only doubling down on the 20% declaration, but adding that certain tasks are even faster.
That makes sense given the current RAM market. 8GB was considered the absolute bare minimum quantity of memory for modern Windows 11 systems just a few years ago, but in 2026, with RAM prices egregiously high, it behooves Microsoft (and the other companies that helped cause the problem) to pitch 8GB as enough again. To make that truer than it might otherwise be, Microsoft has introduced several key optimizations that it says make the Windows 11 experience much better on low-RAM laptops and desktops.
In its promotional video (above), Microsoft highlights that 8GB machines should experience less stutter during video playback and faster transitions between apps when multitasking. To achieve this, Microsoft claims it adjusted how memory compression and paging work in Windows 11, allowing it to hold as much as 2GB of additional data in system memory without increasing required capacity. That reduces how often Windows needs to use slower storage to cache needed data.
It also reduced memory-use growth in applications like Microsoft 365 Office apps, Edge, and Windows itself, saving up to 900MB of memory in its own multi-tasking tests. Key changes include making Edge put tabs to sleep after 15 minutes, rather than two hours, to reduce memory usage.
With adjustments in how Windows prioritizes certain foreground processes, it now opens apps and services like File Explorer and the Start Menu up to 20% faster. Microsoft Edge launches up to 33% faster.
Microsoft says it plans further memory optimizations, particularly for Windows Search and key apps like OneDrive, Photos, Paint, Notepad, and File Explorer. Because these are some of the most-used native Windows applications, changes to how they operate could have an outsized impact on the Windows 11 experience.
These updates follow additional improvements to Windows 11 earlier this year, like the Low Latency Profile, which helps boost native app startup times.
To benefit from these recent changes, you’ll need to be running Windows 11 version 26H2, build 26300.9818 or later. If you’re not up to date yet, run Windows Update until it’s fully up to date, then let us know whether you notice a difference on devices with 8GB of RAM or less.
