Windows 11 is such a memory hog that I've had to resort to RAM optimizers — but can Microsoft turn things around with project K2?

Microsoft has a tough task ahead to optimize Windows 11, with the reported project 'K2' described as an effort to effectively eliminate the issues of bloatware, excessive AI usage, and provide better gaming performance, and it wants to match the latter with Valve's SteamOS to win users' trust back.

I think that's a move from Microsoft that all of its users can get behind, because Windows 11 certainly needs it. I've had my fair share of complaints about the operating system for a long while, mostly with the frustrating and persistent bugs with each update.

However, since there's an ongoing memory crisis, leaving consumers with very few affordable options on RAM kits, I've discovered that Windows 11 and other factors around applications are only making life worse for its users. It's no wonder that Microsoft is now prioritizing optimization for the OS.

In the meantime, I've found another way to manage memory woes.

Windows 11 and apps are using more RAM than necessary

Using the Windows RAM & Performance Optimizer on GitHub by Priyom Saha, I've been able to decrease the amount of memory consumption at the click of a button.

Similar to many other RAM optimizers you can find available on GitHub, this works via a script, which eliminates unnecessary background applications and Windows 11's persistent bloatware, designed to run in an endless loop every 10 seconds. It's also actively monitoring and trimming RAM usage 'in real-time', which helps recover memory that could be used for more intensive tasks.

While using this tool, I've discovered that Windows 11 and its applications (including non-Microsoft apps) are using more RAM than necessary, and this was evident in drops of up to 6GB in usage. I've tested scenarios where Microsoft Edge (or even Chrome) is running in the background with only a few tabs open, and I would see RAM usage fall from 17GB to 11GB in a matter of minutes.

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The drops aren't as significant on idle; however, I still noticed that when running the script, at least 1GB or 2GB of memory is recovered. While that isn't a huge amount for systems with 16GB or more, it's a bigger issue for low-end PCs or handhelds.

I must state that the problem isn't solely on Windows 11 here, as it's quite clear that other applications are in use, but browsers like Edge or Chrome, and entertainment applications like Spotify shouldn't be pulling so much memory, especially when committing to basic background tasks (at least in comparison to gaming or editing).

The combination of both Windows and non-Windows applications (e.g., Chrome), alongside the operating system's bloatware and usual background activity, is seemingly creating an excessive amount of RAM usage. It's exactly why it's pleasing to hear Microsoft address this with project K2 for Windows, and I'm hoping that we can start to see major improvements in the near future.

While we wait, though, there's always Saha's RAM optimizer.

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