Windows 11 RAM Requirements
Windows 11 requires at least 4GB RAM. If your PC doesn’t meet this requirement, the Windows 11 installation will fail. Of course, you can also bypass this requirement and install Windows 11 on a PC having no more than 4GB RAM. You can refer to this post: Can Win11 Run on 2GB RAM & How to Install Windows 11 on 2GB RAM?
However, if you do this, you should be prepared for Windows 11 to freeze or crash at any time.
How Much RAM Does Windows 11 Use?
4GB is the Windows 11 RAM usage recommended by Microsoft. However, the pure Windows 11 system may only need 3GB to run. The remaining 1GB RAM can be used to do some simple jobs like browsing the web, emailing, and editing documents.
However, if you have Google Chrome running with a few tabs open, or you try to do something like serious photo editing, Windows 11 may freeze or crash.
Is 4GB RAM enough for Windows 11?
As mentioned above, 4GB RAM only allows Windows 11 to do some simple jobs. The memory usage in Task Manager will be pinned at over 80% even if no program is running. Even opening things like Search, or taking a screenshot/snip, can make it jump over to 90% usage. If possible, add the RAM.
Is 8GB RAM enough for Windows 11?
If you plan on using your PC for lightweight applications like browsers, MS Office, and Spotify, 8GB is more than enough for Windows 11. But if you want to run some productive software, 8GB is not enough.
Is 16GB RAM enough for Windows 11?
In most cases, 16GB RAM is enough for Windows 11. According to some users, on a 16GB system, the Windows 11 RAM usage is 4-5GB. While on a 32GB system, it reaches 7-8GB. When Photoshop is used, it reaches 8-9GB. When all apps that you need are installed, the Windows 11 RAM usage reaches easily 8-12GB.
16GB RAM can deal with many cases. However, if you want to do some special jobs like streaming AAA games at good enough quality, 32GB RAM is recommended.
Why Does Windows 11 Use More RAM than Windows 10?
The reason is that Windows 11 includes a lot of new features and programs that require more memory to run. For example, the Widgets tab in Windows 11. It is constantly updating to keep you in the loop, but this requires a fair amount of RAM to run.
If you don’t like these features, you can remove them by following the guide in this post: How to Debloat Windows 11 for Better Performance.
How to Reduce Windows 11 RAM Usage
If your RAM usage is very high, you can uninstall some programs or try the methods in this post: How to Fix Windows 11 High Memory Usage? Here Are Easy Fixes.
Bottom Line
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About The Author
Position: Columnist
Linda has been working as an editor at MiniTool for 5 years. She is always curious about computer knowledge and learns it crazily. Her articles are simple and easy to understand. Even people who do not understand computer can gain something. By the way, her special focuses are disk management, data recovery and PDF editing.