Windows 11 Memory Update Targets Multitasking on 8GB PCs

Microsoft says a Windows 11 update improved completion times by up to 40 percent in a multitasking test on a laptop with 8GB of RAM. As reported by Guru3D, the claim concerns Windows 11 build 26200.9445, released on November 3, and comes from Microsoft’s own laboratory testing.

The result offers a specific example of the company’s memory management work. It does not establish an equivalent improvement across all Windows PCs with 8GB of memory.

What Microsoft measured

The test system used a Snapdragon X processor and 8GB of RAM. Its workload combined 20 browser tabs, 4K video, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and File Explorer. Microsoft says that workload finished up to 40 percent faster following the update, while the applications used up to 900MB less memory.

Windows head Pavan Davuluri described the release as part of an ongoing effort to improve memory management. Microsoft had previously claimed that earlier changes made 8GB PCs up to 20 percent more responsive. That responsiveness claim and the latest workload completion figure describe different measures.

What the figures mean for PC users

Microsoft has not supplied independent test results alongside its claim. Hardware, application versions, background processes and the tasks being performed can all affect the benefit on another computer.

Other measures described in the report include delaying widget loading until the widget menu opens, which Microsoft says can save around 200MB of RAM. Edge also puts inactive tabs to sleep after 15 minutes.

For an 8GB PC, reducing background memory use can leave more room for active applications. It does not add physical RAM, and the reported productivity test provides no measurement of gaming performance. Microsoft says further memory management improvements are planned for the coming months.