Overview
- Microsoft said Tuesday that lab tests show Windows 11 is up to 20% more responsive and multitasking up to 40% faster on 8GB PCs than a year ago, and that recent updates are already rolling out to users.
- The company says its engineers reclaimed as much as about 900MB of RAM by stopping some preloads on 8GB devices and by reducing memory used by Windows, Edge and Microsoft 365 apps, with Office contributing roughly 350MB of those savings.
- Windows 11 changes include stopping background preload of features like the Widgets board on 8GB machines, consolidating web‑powered interfaces to shared engines, and rebuilding apps (File Explorer, Notepad, Paint, Search) on WinUI to cut per‑app memory use.
- Microsoft is enforcing OEM memory budgets for low‑RAM models to limit preinstalled software and reserve RAM for core OS and user apps, a move designed to steer manufacturers toward leaner 8GB configurations.
- Independent and real‑world results will vary by hardware, drivers and workloads, so reviewers say the improvements make many 8GB laptops usable for common tasks but heavy workloads can still bog those systems, and broader ecosystem changes from browsers and third‑party apps will affect outcomes.