On November 3, 2026, Microsoft detailed the test results and requirements behind its performance improvements aimed at making Windows 11 PCs with 8GB of memory more comfortable to use. The same day, Windows Central published a hands-on comparison of an older and a newer version of Windows 11 on the same 8GB laptop. In that test, physical RAM usage dropped significantly after boot, but the gap narrowed once multiple apps were running. The most striking difference under heavy load was in "committed memory," the total amount of memory Windows has promised to apps and the system. How well an 8GB machine performs depends not only on OS optimization but also on what you actually do with it.
Tested on an 8GB laptop: RAM use after boot down by 1.2GB
In Windows Central's hands-on test by Cale Hunt, an Acer Swift Air 14 was set up with a minimal installation of Windows 11 25H2, released about a year earlier, and then updated to the October 2026 version of 26H2 (build 26300.9711) to compare performance. The test machine has an Intel Core 5 320, 8GB of LPDDR5x memory, and a 512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD. Drivers and installed programs were identical across both versions, and the power mode was set to "Best performance" to keep conditions as equal as possible.
The test covered three scenarios: after boot, everyday use, and heavy load. For the after-boot measurement, the system sat idle for about 10 minutes with no additional apps open. For everyday use, Microsoft Edge was opened with 10 tabs alongside Word, Slack, and Spotify. The heavy-load test raised Edge to 20 tabs and added Word and Excel files, Spotify, Slack, Microsoft Store, Photos, File Explorer, and the image editor GIMP.
Physical RAM usage was lower on 26H2 in every scenario. However, the improvement was 1.2GB after boot, but only 0.4GB in everyday use and 0.5GB under heavy load.
| Scenario | Older 25H2 | 26H2 (26300.9711) | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 10 min after boot | 5.3GB | 4.1GB | 1.2GB |
| Everyday use | 7.0GB | 6.6GB | 0.4GB |
| Heavy load | 7.3GB | 6.8GB | 0.5GB |
Available RAM after boot rose from 2.3GB to 3.5GB, but with several apps open, the newer version still used 6.6 to 6.8GB. In other words, even though the OS itself uses less memory, most of the 8GB is still consumed once real work begins. The comparison is also limited to a single PC, and the 26H2 build tested predates the latest build, 26300.9818, that Microsoft highlighted this time. Pinpointing the difference between today's 25H2 and the latest 26H2, or the effect of individual optimizations, would require further testing under controlled conditions.
Committed memory down 4.9GB under heavy load
A bigger change than physical RAM usage was seen in committed memory. In Windows Central's measurements, current committed memory under heavy load fell from 14.7GB on the older 25H2 to 9.8GB on 26H2, a difference of 4.9GB. In everyday use it fell by 2.4GB, from 11.5GB to 9.1GB. After boot, the drop was only 0.3GB, from 4.7GB to 4.4GB.
Committed memory is not the same as the amount of data actually loaded into physical RAM. According to Microsoft Learn, Windows uses the page file on storage in addition to physical RAM to guarantee the memory requested by apps and the system. It is therefore not unusual for committed memory to exceed 8GB even on an 8GB PC. Of the two numbers shown under "Committed" in Task Manager, the left is the current committed amount and the right is the "commit limit," the maximum that can be committed.
The commit limit also varied by scenario in this test. About 10 minutes after boot it was 9.5GB on both versions, but in everyday use it went from 12.2GB to 10.4GB, and under heavy load from 15.2GB to 10.4GB. Because the commit limit depends on both physical RAM and page file size, these figures cannot be equated with physical RAM usage.
Windows Central also reported that storage utilization rose on both builds under heavy load, but was relatively milder on 26H2. The reduction in committed memory suggests the memory management burden may have eased, but it does not reveal how much SSD reads and writes actually decreased. Assessing real-world comfort would require measuring disk I/O, app switching times, and similar metrics.
Conditions behind Microsoft's "up to 20%" and "up to 40%" speedup claims
In its October 15 Windows Experience Blog post, Microsoft announced improvements to responsiveness in everyday Windows 11 operations. The "up to 20% faster" figure is based on diagnostic data from 8GB PCs, comparing response times for the Start menu, search, right-click menus, and more. Microsoft also measured response times for Settings, Snipping Tool, and File Explorer, using OS builds 26200.7628 and 26300.9550 for the comparison.
In its November 3 explanation, Microsoft also presented a new "up to 40% faster" result. This came from internal testing on an HP OmniBook 3 with an 8-core Snapdragon X Plus and 8GB of memory, measuring the time to complete a sequence of apps launched one after another. Specifically, the test opened 20 tabs in Edge, then sequentially opened 4K video and large Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, followed by Outlook and File Explorer. Completion of each step was verified automatically by checking the screen state.
Comparing builds 26200.7623 and 26200.9445 in this test, Microsoft said the newer build completed the sequence up to 40% faster. However, the PC configuration and OS builds differ from those in the Windows Central test, and the metrics are different as well: task completion time versus memory usage. The 40% figure should therefore not be read as meaning apps will run a uniform 40% faster on every 8GB PC.
Memory management and app behavior revised for 8GB PCs
The core of Microsoft's work is using limited physical RAM more efficiently. It adjusted the mechanism that compresses infrequently used data and keeps it in RAM, as well as the timing of moving data out to storage and reading it back. According to Microsoft, changes included in build 26300.9550 let Windows keep up to 2GB more working data in RAM that would previously have been moved to storage. This does not increase the physical RAM capacity itself; rather, compression and data placement optimizations reduce the amount of reloading when returning to apps or tabs.
Background task priorities have also been revisited. Even while a post-Windows Update restart or search index creation is under way, the app the user is working in is temporarily prioritized, and background load is held down. On 8GB machines in particular, responsiveness tends to suffer when such tasks run simultaneously, so reducing load during active use is important.
In September 2026, Microsoft also tested changes in committed memory before and after work on an 8GB PC. Using Edge, Office, Outlook, and Teams, each paired with the Microsoft 365 version matching the OS build, it found that updating from 26200.7628 to 26300.9550 reduced the growth in committed memory during work by up to 900MB. Of that, improvements in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook accounted for a combined 360MB. In addition, on PCs with 8GB of memory or less, Widgets is now not loaded until the user opens it, reducing committed memory by about 200MB while it is closed. Note that the 900MB is the reduction in growth before and after work, while the 200MB is the difference with Widgets closed; they were measured under different conditions.
Optimizations have also been made on the app side. In Edge, the default time before unused tabs automatically go to sleep has been shortened from 2 hours to 15 minutes. Edge also now connects directly to an already running background instance when opening links, which Microsoft says can cut launch time by up to 33%. Applying this improvement requires Windows 11 build 26300.9818 or later and Edge 150 or later.
For Teams, Microsoft says efficiency mode is now available by default on 8GB PCs, cutting launch time by up to 20%. During online meetings, camera resolution is also adjusted to preserve the CPU resources needed for audio processing. These improvements work best when app updates are combined with OS updates.
Update requirements for the latest improvements
Microsoft's current guidance is to update to Windows 11 26H2 build 26300.9818 or later and to bring Edge, Microsoft 365, and Teams to their latest supported versions. Build 26300.9818 was delivered in the optional non-security preview update KB5127936, dated October 28. However, if the same KB5127936 is applied to Windows 11 25H2, the OS build becomes 26200.9818, so the KB number alone cannot tell you whether the improvements apply.
You can check your current version and OS build by typing winver into the Windows search box. Microsoft advises opening Windows Update from Settings, enabling "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available," and checking for updates. Optional updates can also be found under "Advanced options" in "Optional updates." Improvements to Edge, Microsoft 365, Teams, and other apps may also be delivered through each app's update function or the Microsoft Store.
These changes can be expected to reduce memory usage and improve multitasking on 8GB PCs. However, Microsoft itself says 16GB or more of memory is better suited to 3D modeling, advanced video editing, and large-scale data processing, so 8GB has not suddenly become comfortable for every use. To see the real effect, open the same apps and browser tabs before and after updating and compare waiting times and responsiveness when switching between them. The key to evaluating this round of optimization is not just that memory use fell right after boot, but how well comfort holds up when you keep working across multiple tasks.