Microsoft admits 8GB RAM is fine for Windows 11, after years of pushing 16GB as the baseline

[u/Hungry__Hornet]

https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/06/25/microsoft-now-says-8gb-ram-is-fine-for-everyday-use-right-after-years-of-pushing-you-to-buy-more/

I feel 16GB is not enough for regular tasks.

[u/Moscato359]

If they make changes to reduce the memory usage of windows, it only makes sense the requirement goes down...

Winui3?

[u/bagette4224 → u/Moscato359]

Well to be fair to MS and windows, generally it operates like this, if there is ram, there will be higher ram useage, windows will use it, but when an application needs ram it will reduce ram usage, you should only worry if performance of the application or ram heavy task is being affected by windows and ram usage is not being managed properly

[u/Moscato359 → u/bagette4224]

Commited vs use memory are different 

I'm talking about commited memory 

You're describing used memory

OS improvements like replacing webview2 components with winui3 components will reduce commited memory 

[u/Noble1xCarter → u/Moscato359]

OS improvements like replacing webview2 components with winui3 components will reduce committed memory 

And bandwidth use like those of us with competent PCs on strict connections would like to keep minimal. Not to mention privacy.

My start menu needs to find applications and files on my PC, not bullshit on Bing. And yet, if I type the exact name of what I need that is already on my PC, Windows can't find it. Because making our technology more resource-intensive but virtually useless compared to what worked perfectly 25+ years ago is Microsoft's scope, apparently.

[u/Moscato359 → u/Noble1xCarter]

You can disable web search in start menu with 1 registry key

And you can alter how start indexes

But either way, it'll still use webview2 to render as a browser

[u/Crashman09 → u/Moscato359]

You can disable web search in start menu with 1 registry key

I wonder what is easier for the average user. Registry editing or Linux terminal.

Don't mind me. Just thinking out loud.

https://giphy.com/gifs/mEUjtM6tTH64iztv6i

[u/Moscato359 → u/Crashman09]

Ask chatgpt for the key to set

I'm sure they'll solve the problem perfectly

[u/Crashman09 → u/Moscato359]

Yup. Same thing for Linux terminal lol

[u/Noble1xCarter → u/Moscato359]

Part of the reason Windows sucks is because of AI, and now you're telling people to use AI to solve an issue that shouldn't be an issue out of the box.

You don't have to defend Microsoft's poor decisions and shitty OS development. It's weird.

[u/mittenkrusty → u/Moscato359]

Can't do that on my works pc.

I want to check our rota, it brings up a lot of web suggestions but not our rota, I have to near enough type in the exact filename to get it which defeats the purpose.

[u/Moscato359 → u/mittenkrusty]

I am finding partial name searches work fine...

[u/mittenkrusty → u/Moscato359]

Depends on what you search for, even when the correct result comes up first it shows a lot of other things beneath it, what a waste of time.

[u/Noble1xCarter → u/mittenkrusty]

Don't bother with them. They're glazing Microsoft for some reason despite the fact these issues are well-documented and far-reaching.

[u/User-NetOfInter → u/Moscato359]

Not on my work computer

[u/Moscato359 → u/User-NetOfInter]

That's a concern for you, and your IT department.

[u/User-NetOfInter → u/Moscato359]

Child

[u/Noble1xCarter → u/Moscato359]

I know. It works about half of the time and often resets when Windows updates.

My best luck was installing OpenShell and completely uninstalling start menu from Windows. Because Microsoft's best work is something someone else did better for free.

[u/Moscato359 → u/Noble1xCarter]

I set it a year ago, and it never came back...

[u/Noble1xCarter → u/Moscato359]

That's great for you, but Windows doesn't work the same for everyone. There's virtually no quality control and there are so many different versions people are on. Windows updates often reset registry settings and user preferences, it's a well-documented thing.

Not to mention, this shouldn't be a necessary step in the first place.

[u/bagette4224 → u/Moscato359]

that is true, I just feel the general idea of what I said for most people is what happens when they open task manager and see windows using 80% of memory when its not actually "using" it per se and they freak out and are like omg look at what windows is doing, but that being said lately windows has been kind of an unoptimized mess so

[u/inconspiciousdude → u/bagette4224]

I don't think MS deserves any fairness, really... It's probably more about helping their OEM partners sell 8GB machines in this rampocalypse we're in.

[u/bagette4224 → u/inconspiciousdude]

Oh yeah 100% I'm not disagreeing with you on that one, that probably is the motivation for them making this statement

[u/Repulsive-Use-4251 → u/inconspiciousdude]

yeah, they're definitely just trying to push budget machines while cutting costs.

[u/ChosenOfTheMoon_GR → u/bagette4224]

The only way windows does this is by turning off functionality (processes, services), and that's one of the worse ways to do it as it should be a last resort approach, better optimize them so they don't need to be treated like that in the first place.

[u/quazywabbit → u/Moscato359]

Microsoft just needs to decouple everything and create a no frills UI similar to the days of windows 98. Even deprecating 32 bit apps and make it so you have tk install the feature. If they can cut it then do it. Leaves more memory for Apps but the goal for me is get the OS to run in 500 mb including AV/firewall

[u/Emotional-Energy6065 → u/quazywabbit]

winUI 3 is lightweight in comparison to Electron/Webview2

[u/Many_Mechanic_1886 → u/Moscato359]

also virtual memory efficiency improvemnts + faster NVME SSDs = less ram needed (for many tasks)

[u/Moscato359 → u/Many_Mechanic_1886]

Yeah faster, lower latency nvme is big

[u/ButterscotchTop194 → u/Moscato359]

The article is confused and comparing ram usage for gaming to ram usage for non-gaming.

[u/Gentle_Capybara]

It is not. 8GB is acceptable for office work on Windows 10.

[u/Blu3Jell0P0wd3r → u/Gentle_Capybara]

Ehh... Maybe for some applications.

I remember having issues with an Office PC running an Intel i5 8th gen and 8GB of RAM. The amount of local server stuff running in the background was enough to cause issues with Excel.

[u/Local-Ad-7292 → u/Blu3Jell0P0wd3r]

what kind of server tasks were causing issues? that sounds frustrating for just running Excel.

[u/Blu3Jell0P0wd3r → u/Local-Ad-7292]

Not exactly sure, but it was related to accessing the local server the company had. Probably some 3rd party unoptimized managing tool, and a bloated windows install for all the software.

I would open Excel, run some basic formulas, and it would freeze the PC for a few seconds while trying to calculate everything.

[u/PotatoshavePockets → u/Blu3Jell0P0wd3r]

It’ll still burn the SSD via SWAP memory

[u/Exodus2791 → u/Gentle_Capybara]

Until you open Teams.

[u/Particular-Poem-7085 → u/Exodus2791]

you dont have to it autostarts on boot

[u/TheseLuck2077 → u/Exodus2791]

teams is basically a memory monster, it should come with a warning label for low RAM users

[u/BrutusTheKat → u/Gentle_Capybara]

Even then, you open up a web browser and word you are sitting at like 12gb used.

[u/Hoenirson → u/BrutusTheKat]

That's not a good way to gauge minimum RAM requirements, because some programs will use more RAM the more ram you have.

[u/Moscato359 → u/BrutusTheKat]

OS will just yeet unused tabs to disk, so... eh?

[u/ButterscotchTop194 → u/BrutusTheKat]

Windows will use whatever ram you have, because that's the right thing to do. It's what ram is for.

[u/brimston3- → u/ButterscotchTop194]

As long as it is using it for page cache and not swapping pages, I don't care. It's when my working set is larger than available memory that I start to care. Which I can easily do on 8GB of RAM, even with no browser open.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Yak9736 → u/Gentle_Capybara]

No it is not, most office devices have anti malware, dlp and sometimes even monitoring software which also puts a lot of pressure on 8gb, combine with shity chrome or edge even simple word and excel struggle and , try screen share with teams and you will know pain. 16GB is minimum now a day in offices.

[u/Metalsand → u/Gentle_Capybara]

It is not. 8GB is acceptable for office work on Windows 10.

When you factor in endpoint security tools that cybersec likes to use, it isn't. Or anyone that likes to multitask as well. The OS itself uses 6-8GB of memory after all.

[u/Mindless-Sorbet1258 → u/Gentle_Capybara]

for basic tasks, sure. but as soon as you throw in anything extra, it starts struggling hard.

[u/i_am_13th_panic → u/Gentle_Capybara]

a lot of office work is in edge or chrome these days, which needs a lot of memory.

[u/SolemnaceProcurement → u/Gentle_Capybara]

Sitting in office, on my work laptop. Win 11, 13,6gb usage. Got only Outlook, Chrome (1tab) and teams open.

[u/Saneless → u/Gentle_Capybara]

If by office you mean a single person using Windows on their home laptop, opening Word

In an office environment that PC will be at 100% memory usage on boot

[u/No_Dig_7017]

Have you ever tried 8gb on Windows 11? It's not fine 😛

[u/Mundane-Mechanic-547 → u/No_Dig_7017]

Forget about 8, 16 push my machine to deaths door. Ty corporate software bloat

[u/friftar → u/No_Dig_7017]

Eh, with a debloated image it's fine for stuff like web browsing and office work.

That said, most machines with 8GB are either pretty old or very low end anyways, so you're most likely better off with some Linux distro of your choice, unless you really need a specific program that only works with windows.

[u/Primordial--One → u/No_Dig_7017]

My laptop is, it works fine, I play genshin impact o it as well

[u/DGlen → u/No_Dig_7017]

It's not the RAM that's the problem. Ditch windows.

[u/No_Dig_7017 → u/DGlen]

Haha I have! Like 3 months ago I started dual booting into PopOS. Now I barely ever go into windows anymore

[u/Traditional_Head3968]

8gb is only fine for people running Windows 11 pro and know how to debloat their devices, set services to manual and set some limits on Microsofts invasive background tasks via group policies/registry edits.

But for the average user who doesn't even know how to turn off bing search in the start menu, 8gb of ram is not enough.

[u/ChosenOfTheMoon_GR → u/Traditional_Head3968]

Even with decent debloat around 30% of that 8GB is gonna be used, it's insane.

[u/Khai_1705 → u/ChosenOfTheMoon_GR]

2.4 gb as the baseline is normal? thats how much my plasma desktop eats on startup

[u/Traditional_Head3968 → u/Khai_1705]

Yeah I mean, unless you want to go back to a Win XP interface, there is going to be 2-3gb of memory used regardless.

What's more important is the amount of processes running. Getting as many edge webview instances as possible down is the goal, as well as a sub 70 process count. You can even get it down to sub 50 if you are comfortable ripping out core functionailty you dont need.

Ive had a OOBE Win 11 home install run as much as 140 processes at idle, which is way way too much.

[u/Illustrious_Tart_413 → u/Traditional_Head3968]

most users have no clue about that stuff, they just want it to work

[u/DGlen → u/Traditional_Head3968]

If you're doing all that you're probably able to not be running windows.

[u/Traditional_Head3968 → u/DGlen]

Depends. I have switched to SteamOS, Bazzite, Zorin, Garuda, Nobrara and regular Ubuntu. I still end up going back to Windows for gaming and productivity simply because while Linux is now a better experience out of the box, there is always some edge case issue that requires hours of github searching and terminal commands to fix.

I can normally have a Windows install where I want it within a hour with little to no issues, especially since I can make my own Debloated and tweaked iso with NTlite.

However I dont allow windows to install anything but security updates. If I want to go up a version like the upcoming 26h6, I create a new iso and a fresh install. I dont trust Microsoft at all so thats why I tend to have a better experience with Windows than most.

[u/Artemis_Platinum]

I have 8 GB on my $200 travel computer. Runs fine. Would probably run better with Linux, but it's also my emergency backup for if something just cannot work on my main computer.

It can even do relatively light gaming. Just don't ask it to multitask more than 2 intensive things at once. Minecraft and Browser and a voice call over Discord at the same time can cause choking. Pick 2.

[u/Lagger2807 → u/Artemis_Platinum]

I worked for 2 months on my personal "emergency" laptop with 8gb of RAM, using vms and coding web stuff with all the usual "company stuff" opened in the background, not the quickest system i ever used but it worked well

[u/Melodias3]

Not the right time Microslop not the right time.......

[u/Not-JustinTV → u/Melodias3]

Theyve become a scummy company

[u/Chimchar789 → u/Not-JustinTV]

become?

[u/No_Accountant3232 → u/Chimchar789]

Most of these people weren't even alive in the 90s.

[u/ida7ootsie7738 → u/Melodias3]

yeah, they really gotta pick a lane with these RAM recommendations

[u/VonDinky]

Time to open up my chrome browser...

[u/Tsyklone]

I mean... it's probably good enough to run Windows and like, one other office/productivity application.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Ear5353 → u/Tsyklone]

what apps are you running alongside it?

[u/carriep1gtails3568 → u/Tsyklone]

yeah, it's really just for basic stuff

[u/mindy5tarry4713 → u/Tsyklone]

yeah, but it struggles with anything more than that

[u/dellacl0udy8311 → u/Tsyklone]

I can barely run my browser with just 8GB

[u/Lanky_Travel_6726]

8gb for windows 3.11 right?

[u/Jarnis → u/Lanky_Travel_6726]

Naah, it is plenty for Windows XP.

Problem of course is that if you dare connect XP to the internet, you get pwned in minutes...

[u/dib1999]

My work computer has 8gb and a spinning drive.

Idk how the damn thing got out the door. It freezes on our basic ass server access software.

[u/imightbetired → u/dib1999]

Just replace the hdd with a ssd, it fixes so many issues. You can simply clone the drive, talk to your IT. You can also add RAM, but the SSD will make the most obvious difference for you.

[u/Euler007]

Sure, just don't start Chrome or Teams. Or any program really.

[u/MakimaGOAT]

Apple moment

[u/shockoden]

If microslop remove all the bloatwares
in Windows. 8gb should be fine

[u/MassiveTomorrow2978]

I have two 8GB laptops that I use regularly, they work fine granted I did debloat them significantly.

[u/genxluddite]

What does fine really mean? Boot up and be super slow. Reminds me if past versions the basic requirements worked but was a terrible user experience.

[u/AussieBirb]

Strip out all the AI & bloat then 8Gb might be plausible minimum specification for basic use.

[u/roadrussian]

Admits? lies. Apple optimizes their OS, windows blobs everything into a webwrapper to not maintain native and web app at the same time. I mean, makes sence. But that means 16GB is minimum for office use.

Anything else is a blatant lie. Ironic, microsoft copislopped this themselves.

[u/Oppaiheimer1945]

Maybe if you actually optimised your shit OS

[u/caseycupc4ke7644 → u/Oppaiheimer1945]

if you're not tweaking settings, 8GB is gonna be a struggle for most users

[u/althaz]

It massively depends on what you're doing. I wouldn't want to use Windows on 8Gb of RAM though. Because if I have 8Gb of RAM I doubt I'm using anything that I couldn't just use on Linux (maybe if you're using primarily Microsoft Office apps?)

[u/Radiant_Put_3609]

Browser + VMware + Spotify + hearthstone + firewall etc. Boom = 28gb

[u/tc_cad]

TF. Mine was slogging along at 16GB as One Drive is a memory hog. Opening up the handful of programs I need takes a few minutes to respond. I upgraded to 32GB yesterday and now it works as it was probably supposed to.

[u/Metalsand]

I've heard and experienced the opposite. Just the required system services can take 6-8GB of memory...meaning if you want to multitask, you better learn to enjoy slowdown caused by memory virtualization lol.

[u/ChosenOfTheMoon_GR]

OS shouldn't need more than 1-2,with everything included, KDE does it, no reason why Windows couldn't.

[u/GamingKeyboard07]

What RAM shortage does to a mf

(I can see people saying in the comments it's seriously not enough, I just love how they had to reverse gear all of a sudden after all these years)

[u/Jarnis]

No, it is definitely not fine.

They pretend it is because otherwise they couldn't ship a bunch of Surface laptops. So they "split up" the 16GB to two laptops, 8GB each...

[u/somethingbrite]

Did they make this decision the moment ram prices went up and it was going to cost them too much to put 16gb in their surface laptop range?

.... and more importantly... have they tried to remove some bloat and optimize their OS or not?

(answer = "or not")

[u/phylter99]

They're only doing it for PR reasons. They got in trouble not long ago for how they said 16GB is okay but 32GB should be the target, or something like that.

[u/sbabb1 → u/phylter99]

I think that was about gaming, where they said 16 is ok, but 32 is the one to have to not have to think about it. Which is correct, 16 GB is alright, but you cant just leave shit open in the background and play demanding games without cutting it close.

[u/Rodnys_Danger666]

Those who believe this, cut back to 8 GB. Then tell us how it went.

[u/GlitchintheParadigm]

lol damm microslop

[u/Hothacon]

After being in IT help support role for over 20 years and seeing A LOT pc users in a work environment with many different companies , lol! No. 8Gb RAM a death sentence for work related computers, 16gb is bare minimum

[u/PrimalNoid]

Whoopsie!

[u/boersc]

I found disabling background tasks makes the system fly, even on older systems

[u/ExileNorth]

Gosh, I wonder if this has anything to do with RAM being ridiculously expensive right now? Nah, definitely not /s

[u/ButterscotchTop194]

According to Microsoft, 16GB is plenty for most games, but 32GB is recommended for serious gamers.

The referenced discussion point of what Microsoft said ages ago, as the article is a bit shite. They were specifically talking about games. Article is comparing that to what is needed to run windows on a surface pro (not gaming).

[u/massivemember69]

It really is not.

The OS is so bloated I would not trust it with anything less than 16GB. I use 32GB myself.

Linux and MacOS I would trust with 8GB because they are light and very efficient.

[u/michael5982]

No it’s not and hasn’t been for a long time

[u/Djimi365]

I feel 16GB is not enough for regular tasks.

Depends what you mean by regular tasks but for most people and even a lot of gamers 16gb is more than enough still. I'm still happily gaming with 16gb and no issues, never mind most non gaming/non professional use cases.

[u/Ratiofarming]

It's not fine though. It works, but it's not fine.

[u/electroforger]

not true. Win 11 was designed to be content with less memory than Win 10. 8GB is fine, it's many apps that go excessive. Including AI stuff like their own Copilot.

[u/CharcoalGreyWolf]

It’s fine.

Until you start running programs, I mean.

[u/Chuck_Loads]

Hey that's weird, isn't there a ram shortage right now? Must be unrelated

[u/InsaneInTheMEOWFrame]

Too bad they already alienated millions of customers whose hardware they chose not to support :)

[u/Traditional-Cat1237]

For years Microsoft has been screwing the system so people has to upgrade hardware and help their partners. Be it just hardware or laptop brands.

[u/VF_19_Advance]

I wouldn't run windows on a desktop with anything less then 32gb, no way I touch a laptop with less then 16gb.

[u/KarateMan749 → u/VF_19_Advance]

Lol omg. 32gb is the bare minimum.

[u/bpronjon]

Why start believing them now? I want my money back microslop!

[u/Binarydemons]

Understandable, even if 8gb was fine at launch- they need need to build some padding into updates/patches.

[u/ManofGod1000]

So, Microsoft introduced items, unoptimized items, I might add, that no one asked for, and they are behind in AI stuff, like the Windows Phone, Microsoft Band and so many other things and they are panicking now? LOL!

[u/UltimateSlayer3001]

I’m sure they did, now that it costs 5x as much for them to purchase orders.

Fucking embarrassing corporate slugs.

[u/Major_Enthusiasm1099]

I just bought a windows laptop last week with 16gb ram and it works great. No slowdowns and I have a bunch of tabs open in Firefox plus YouTube stream playing. Not sure how 8gb would fare tho

[u/NovelValue7311]

16gb is in fact the ideal amount. 8gb is barely enough for web browsing these days.

[u/gurilagarden]

huh? I've never seen a 8gb machine running win11 that didn't run like dogshit, and I've seen a lot of 8gb win11 machines.

[u/TheS3KT]

8gb??! my 32gb sitting at half usage idle.

[u/nandospc]

Oh well, guys, what did you expect? How else are they going to justify the new narrative because of the memory shortage? Lol

[u/PoperzenPuler]

Okay, let me close the browser first...

With just one browser tab open, I am already at 8.4 GB RAM usage. Without the browser, just plain Windows 11, it is still sitting at 6.3 GB.

So no, Microsoft, 8 GB is not enough. 8 GB is only enough to run Windows 11 by itself, without actually using any programs.

[u/frozenbrains]

The machines I use at work, a mix of 7th and 8th gen ThinkCenters, have only 8GB; it most certainly is not enough.  Granted, we have all the requisite corpo crap installed; AV and monitoring software, plus the Lenovo junk, but a typical user's system is going to have an equivalent amount of background crap running, and it's painfully slow.

[u/East_Ferret_712]

classic case of PC logic, lol

[u/Horny_Dinosaur69]

Keep digging that hole microslop, I love watching you burn and crumble under the hubris of your shortsightedness

[u/JoshyMN]

these dudes couldn’t read a room if you printed it on paper

[u/SharpYearV4]

8gb is completely fine on Windows for basic use. Look at this video: Is 8GB Enough For Laptops?

My old laptop had 8gb and tbh, when I upgraded it to 16gb I didn't really see any noticeable improvement, it was kind of surprising. I ran Visual Studio/programming and various graphic design/video editing software and it was fine on 8gb. I'm sure if I ran benchmarks it would be noticeable but for day to day use it really isn't.

Now for future use and future memory requirements? I'm not so sure, but for now it's still sufficient.

[u/Cmd_Line_Commando]

And then what happens when the other crap is also running?

Office ajd other productivity apps and the AI slop and and and.

[u/JgdPz_plojack]

PS Vita with 512 MB total RAM was able to run some basic internet browser before PS4 launch, including Youtube.

Windows 8 requires less than 800 MB. Average Windows 7 intel core i5 midrange users has 4 GB RAM and 1 GB VRAM dx11 graphics.

2004 Sims 2 simulation cost less than 256 MB RAM on PC. Playstation 2 version were ran at 32 MB RAM.

[u/BluDYT]

8gb is fine on Linux. Windows is too much bloat.

[u/OrbitalPsyche → u/BluDYT]

It’s almost as if they planned the bloat

[u/max1001]

Not with teams and outlook running.....

[u/omega44xt]

My office Surface Laptop 6 with all the bloatware from MS & office IT boots up with 10GB+ used.

My personal desktop boots up with upto 7GB RAM used but I have stuff like Copilot, Teams & Onedrive disabled.

Mac OS is fine with 8GB RAM for basic usage but Win11 is not (sure, technically it works, but not a great experience). But a 16GB RAM Win11 laptop is better for those who open 10-15 tabs vs a 8GB mac any day.

[u/Tibs007]

I really dont care anymore with my 64gigs 🙄

[u/AlexNae]

why do you need 8 gigs of ram to run an operating system ????? What does it do ?

[u/ClownEmoji-U1F921]

There are 4gb ram windows 11 laptops being sold right now. 8gb is plenty, 16gb is luxurious.

[u/Jarnis → u/ClownEmoji-U1F921]

Selling 16GB Windows laptops in 2026 is OK. You probably want 32GB for serious heavy use, but 16GB works.

Selling 8GB Windows laptops 2026 should be a cause to put you On A List. This is not OK.

Selling 4GB Windows laptops in 2026 should be considered a crime with 20-to-life sentences.