# Windows 11 update reduces memory use on PCs with 8GB of RAM

_Published Tuesday, November 3, 2026 at 1:03 PM EST · Products · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

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Microsoft is releasing a Windows 11 update with memory improvements for PCs with 8GB of RAM. The company says Windows is up to 20 percent more responsive and multitasking is up to 40 percent faster in its lab test.

Improved compression keeps up to 2GB more active data in memory rather than moving it to slower storage. Changes to Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook save 360MB of RAM. On 8GB PCs, Windows delays loading widgets until users open the panel, while inactive Edge tabs now sleep after 15 minutes. The performance figures come from Microsoft's testing.

## Sources

- [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/news/1025142/windows-11-8gb-ram-memory-improvements-speed-performance)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/nXrYiSJWCWqepvUzC88DzM
Published: 2026-11-03T18:03:24.699Z
Story chronology: 2026-11-03T17:00:00.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-11-03T20:48:48.325Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)