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Saturday, August 1st 2026

Microsoft Promises Better Windows 11 Memory Efficiency

by
Cpt.Jank
 Discuss (159 Comments)
Following large-scale dissatisfaction with the overall Windows experience, Microsoft in March 2026 issued a statement explaining that it would be working to deliver "smoother navigation and more reliable performance for everyday tasks." Now, over four months later, Pavan Davaluri, President of Windows + Devices, has provided an update on the progress of this initiative in a new X post.

In this X post, one of the more notable improvements Davuluri claims Microsoft has made during recent months—along with improvements to the Taskbar and Start—is improved memory efficiency. He explains that Microsoft has implemented "substantial improvements in memory efficiency and latency," in order to "accelerate the modernization of Windows 11," that it has reduced memory overhead across apps and components, and that the company has tuned WinUI 3 to make built-in apps use less memory. Microsoft also outlined its plans for the future of Windows 11 memory efficiency improvements, specifically stating that the Windows team will be working on "memory optimization for 8 GB and above."
Memory optimization for 8 GB and above: Reducing Windows memory footprint to deliver a fast and responsive Windows experience across the PCs customers use every day.
Alongside all of these areas, we've steadily been introducing several improvements to the memory efficiency of Windows, from taking advantage of a more efficient memory allocator to reduce overhead across apps and components, continued tuning of WinUI 3 so that apps built on it use less memory by design, as well as driving efficiencies across Chromium and Webview2 components when they appear in the operating system.
Despite Microsoft's efforts, in a recent TechPowerUp reader poll, only 6% of 24,100 participants said that Windows was "noticeably improved," while 12% noted "minor improvements," and a whopping 46% said that it "feels the same to me." Perhaps more damning, 36% of TechPowerUp readers polled said that Windows 11 was "actually getting worse" following Microsoft's improvement plan announcement.
Source: Paval Davuluri on X

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159 Comments on Microsoft Promises Better Windows 11 Memory Efficiency

#2
A Computer Guy
Windows 11 did seem a lot snappier inside a VM when I tried it.
Posted on Reply
#3
FR3D1
Ninja Cat
I couldn't care less, since I bought my RAM long before the so-called AI crisis, and in my case, it's more than enough. Anyone with less than 32 GB of RAM installed is partly to blame themselves. Anyone who buys a current Android device and thinks 8 GB of RAM is sufficient is living under a rock. Yes, RAM inefficiency isn't limited to Microsoft. Which makes me wonder why I'm not already in the Apple ecosystem.

Regards,
Fred.
Posted on Reply
#4
Hecate91
Yeah, sure MS also promised less AI slop but they broke that promise. I'll believe it when I see it but have no hopes for them really fixing things as Windows has been bloated for far too long.
Posted on Reply
#5
megamanxtreme
Used RAM doesn't stay anymore, it reduces. When there's some Standby Memory remaining, clearing it reduces the used RAM a bit, so it's a great progress.
Posted on Reply
#6
lexluthermiester
FR3D1Anyone with less than 32 GB of RAM installed is partly to blame themselves.
Um, what? No. 32GB is nice, but not critical and it's not required. 8GB is enough for good performance. 16GB is what most people consider standard these days, and performance is great with that much.
Posted on Reply
#7
AsRock
TPU addict
lexluthermiesterUm, what? No. 32GB is nice, but not critical and it's not required. 8GB is enough for good performance. 16GB is what most people consider standard these days, and performance is great with that much.
I be paging with nearly every game with 16GB and 8 well as i just started this system it's already at 5.3GB
Posted on Reply
#8
R-T-B
AsRockI be paging with nearly every game with 16GB and 8 well as i just started this system it's already at 5.3GB
I don't think we are considering gaming when we discuss "standard use cases" frankly. Thats always going to take a bit more oomph.

Think general office work.
Posted on Reply
#9
Dr. Dro
At the same time they intend to flip everything over to Rust, The Memory-Safe Programming Language™? :roll:
Posted on Reply
#10
Darmok N Jalad
And yet they slip in more beta apps we didn’t ask for, and push everything they can to Web2View with its own instance of Edge.
Posted on Reply
#11
Space Lynx
Astronaut
AsRockI be paging with nearly every game with 16GB and 8 well as i just started this system it's already at 5.3GB
let's say someone has 96gb ram, could they just disable paging entirely through windows? are there any gaming benefits to that? @ir_cow
Posted on Reply
#12
Chaitanya
FR3D1Yes, RAM inefficiency isn't limited to Microsoft. Which makes me wonder why I'm not already in the Apple ecosystem.

Regards,
Fred.
Maybe because they already were committing robbery with absurd prices for "upgrades" and the fact their devices have everything soldered right out of the factory making repairs and upgrades impossible for average users. To top it off now they think that robbery wasnt enough so they are going to strip clothes from their customers as well.
Posted on Reply
#13
v12dock
Block Caption of Rainey Street
Let's be honest 32 is the new 16.
Posted on Reply
#14
Prima.Vera
A Computer GuyWindows 11 did seem a lot snappier inside a VM when I tried it.
No it doesn't. I am daily working with Win 11 VMs, and it's by far, THE WORST OS there is.
How much RAM are you allocating to your VM?
Posted on Reply
#15
A Computer Guy
Space Lynxlet's say someone has 96gb ram, could they just disable paging entirely through windows? are there any gaming benefits to that? @ir_cow
Generally you don't want to disable paging. I understand why people want to do it but if you have applications that rely on large chunks of memory mapped data or applications that rely on being loaded into the pagefile it's not a good idea. Just make it a reasonable size instead of letting Windows default it based on the size of RAM you have installed.
Posted on Reply
#16
Space Lynx
Astronaut
A Computer GuyGenerally you don't want to disable paging. I understand why people want to do it but if you have applications that rely on large chunks of memory mapped data or applications that rely on being loaded into the pagefile it's not a good idea. Just make it a reasonable size instead of letting Windows default it based on the size of RAM you have installed.
Appreciate it, I will just leave everything default
Posted on Reply
#17
AsRock
TPU addict
A Computer GuyGenerally you don't want to disable paging. I understand why people want to do it but if you have applications that rely on large chunks of memory mapped data or applications that rely on being loaded into the pagefile it's not a good idea. Just make it a reasonable size instead of letting Windows default it based on the size of RAM you have installed.
This^^. Been no reason to turn it off, and the chances are a application has been made with a pagefile in mind.
Posted on Reply
#18
Shrek
Very pleased that MS are working of the frugal use of RAM
Posted on Reply
#19
A Computer Guy
Prima.VeraNo it doesn't. I am daily working with Win 11 VMs, and it's by far, THE WORST OS there is.
How much RAM are you allocating to your VM?
No need to be offended. It was a casual observation before 25H2, maybe 24H2, when I tried it on my 7950x w/ 96GB 6000MT/s RAM, VM allocated 8 threads and 16GB or 32GB RAM and single file vmdk, locally hosted from Optane using VMWare Workstation with GPU acceleration enabled. YMMV but a fresh install of Win11 UI did feel snappier and more responsive to me at the time. I don't have any hard data to prove it sorry so it's a rather a subjective assessment comparing out of the box fresh installations.
Space LynxAppreciate it, I will just leave everything default
You can choose to limit it if your strapped for space on SSD. Like to 4GB (I picked a random number). If nothing crashes your fine. I like to use small SSD's for OS drives so it can be helpful to limit it if you have lots of ram and small SSD space.
Posted on Reply
#20
lexluthermiester
AsRockI be paging with nearly every game with 16GB and 8 well as i just started this system it's already at 5.3GB
R-T-BI don't think we are considering gaming when we discuss "standard use cases" frankly. Thats always going to take a bit more oomph.

Think general office work.
As always, it depends on the game or whatever else one might be running. Not all games/apps are created equal.

However, 16GB is still plenty for most games. Only a handful need more. Also, elitists do not count in my above statement because they(we) are the exception rather than the rule.
v12dockLet's be honest 32 is the new 16.
Not yet it's not, not even close, especially with the RAMpocalypse in full effect.
Posted on Reply
#21
harm9963
Even with 64GB Ram, I don't let stuff run in back ground, in Services manual is set by me ,and apps settings, many more are not allow to run in back ground. ,only 4.5GB used with only 45 processes ! The little things one can do .

One by one ,will be surprise how many are running ! I been told many time , my jeans are screeching " I run a tight ship !
Posted on Reply
#22
TheinsanegamerN
More like Microsoft was Self-Felted by the 8GB surface devices being nigh on unusable. Whoops.
lexluthermiesterAs always, it depends on the game or whatever else one might be doing. Not all games/apps are created equal.

However, 16GB is still plenty for most games. Only a handful need more. Also, elitist do not count in my above statement because they(we) are the exception rather than the rule.
The "elitist" using heavily customized windows installs, indeed, are the exception to the rule.

You run a standard Windows 11 install, with corporate antivirus and management tools, and a couple google sheets and Gmail open, and even 16GB of RAM is starting to feel tight. The way 8GB was 5 years ago. 8GB today is unusably slow. Constant heavy swapping to SSD, long pauses as data is transferred, constant browser hangs and tab unloading, ece.
lexluthermiesterNot yet it's not, not even close, especially with the RAMpocalypse in full effect.
The availability of RAM does not determine if 32GB is the new 16. Software use of RAM determines that.
Posted on Reply
#23
jdrch
memory optimization for 8 GB and above
That Verge 8 GB RAM Surface review didn't land well, I bet.
Posted on Reply
#24
lexluthermiester
TheinsanegamerNYou run a standard Windows 11 install, with corporate antivirus and management tools, and a couple google sheets and Gmail open, and even 16GB of RAM is starting to feel tight. The way 8GB was 5 years ago. 8GB today is unusably slow. Constant heavy swapping to SSD, long pauses as data is transferred, constant browser hangs and tab unloading, ece.
I build systems like that every day. Nope. 8GB is fine with some simple tweaks on some systems. Again, it depends on the use case.
TheinsanegamerNSoftware use of RAM determines that.
99% of all software doesn't justify the need.

We've had this tired nonsense debate before. As always the proof it in the pudding. If YOU need more RAM, good for you. Not everyone does.
Posted on Reply
#25
matar
i'd buy that for a dollar
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