Windows RAM usage is nowhere near as straightforward as Task Manager would have you believe. The operating system strategically fills unused memory with cache, compressed data, and recently used app data to make your system feel faster. This is useful, but it might have you believe you need more RAM than you really do.
Adding more RAM is a lot pricier than it used to be, all thanks to the so-called RAM-pocalypse. Instead of buying more RAM, take a look at how Windows memory management really works.
What “RAM usage” really means in Windows
It’s not as straightforward as it would seem.
When you open Task Manager and see that you’re using 14GB of RAM out of 16GB total, you’re probably going to feel like you need more memory. After all, you’re using almost everything you have.
However, Task Manager presents RAM usage in a somewhat misleading way. What it calls “in use” memory is actually a mix of different things: applications that need RAM, system processes, cached data that Windows keeps around to speed things up, and compressed pages sitting in memory waiting to be decompressed. Not all of those things are actually necessary at that moment.
The Windows kernel treats memory in distinct categories. “In use” is memory currently assigned to running apps, Windows, and drivers, including compressed memory. It’s generally the hardest category to reclaim without impacting something.
“Available” is memory that’s ready to be allocated immediately if a program asks for it, including standby cache that Windows will instantly discard if needed.
“Committed” memory is memory that Windows has promised to make available to apps. Even if it isn’t all sitting in RAM at the moment, it’s still backed by either physical RAM or the pagefile.
This distinction explains why you can sometimes see committed memory exceed your physical RAM: Windows reserves virtual space that will spill to disk if necessary.
“Cached” memory is something of an umbrella term. It covers the memory Windows is using for the system working set, plus the standby and modified page lists. When apps need the space, Windows can reclaim a lot of this cache fairly quickly.
Caching is what makes the same system feel dramatically faster when it has 16GB of RAM versus 8GB—the applications themselves haven’t changed, but Windows has room to be generous with caching and keep lots of data in a quick-to-reach place.
Where your RAM goes: cache, standby, and memory compression
Windows has a plan for every last bit of your RAM.
Windows uses three interconnected techniques to stay snappy. The first technique is standby memory, which is Windows’ cache of data that might be useful soon. This includes recently accessed file contents, application binaries that were just unloaded, and metadata from the file system.
When you close a program, Windows doesn’t immediately forget what was in its memory—it keeps that data in standby. If you open the same program 10 minutes later, Windows can restore it much faster from RAM compared to reading it from disk.
Memory compression is Windows’ second strategy. When memory starts getting tight, instead of immediately dumping data to the pagefile (which is slow), Windows compresses unused pages in place.
Compressed data takes up less space, and decompressing it is much faster than reading from disk. The compression happens “transparently,” which means your applications have no idea their idle memory pages are compressed. This is why you might see high “in use” memory but still have responsive performance—much of that RAM is compressed data that’s cheap to access compared to disk I/O.
Virtual memory and the pagefile are the fallback. When RAM is genuinely full, Windows moves the least-recently-used data to your disk (the pagefile). This is slow because disk access is inherently thousands of times slower than RAM, but it lets you run more applications than your RAM physically allows.
How Windows decides what stays in RAM (and what gets pushed out)
There’s a general hierarchy of priorities.
When memory pressure increases, Windows usually kicks things out of RAM in a specific order.
Standby cache is the first to go because it’s simply a “nice-to-have,” not an essential. If an application needs RAM, Windows clears the cache without a second thought. There’s no downside to losing standby data because it was optional to begin with. Your system keeps working normally; only the next time you access those files will be slightly slower.
If standby memory runs out, compression comes next. Windows compresses more pages, reducing their footprint at the cost of CPU time during decompression.
Then, if compression reaches its limit, pages get written to the pagefile. This last resort is where performance actually suffers, because storage access is considerably slower than RAM, even if you buy one of the fastest SSDs.
How to tell when you genuinely need more RAM
Let’s hope you don’t, because it’s wildly overpriced right now.
Committed memory is your first clue whether you need more RAM or not. Check the Performance tab in Task Manager and look at the “Committed” figure. If committed memory regularly approaches your commit limit, you have a genuine shortage. You can find what’s consuming committed memory by opening Task Manager’s Details tab and adding the “Commit size” column.
Next, look for sustained pagefile usage. If you notice lots of errors along with heavy disk activity during normal multitasking, Windows may be dipping into the pagefile too often. When this happens, you’ll notice it as stuttering, slow application launches, and delays when switching between windows.
You can confirm the situation by opening Resource Monitor, going to the Memory tab, and checking the “Hard Faults/sec” value. Spikes when you’re launching a program are normal, but if this number is consistently high (and is paired with high disk activity), your PC may be dealing with memory pressure.
Note that high standby memory and high compressed memory aren’t problems as long as your system remains responsive. The real warning signs are committed memory near the limit, stuttering when switching applications, and long delays opening new programs. These indicate that Windows is out of RAM and leaning hard on disk.
Fixes to try before you buy RAM (and how to upgrade smart if you do)
Anything to avoid buying RAM right now.
To free up RAM in Windows 11, start by auditing startup programs. Open Task Manager’s Startup tab and disable anything you don’t actively need running at boot. Many programs launch automatically just to sit in the background, consuming RAM. Similarly, disable background services you won’t use.
It’s also a good idea to disable memory-hungry browser extensions if you use Chrome or Edge. Extensions run constantly in the background. You can also enable “Sleeping tabs” in Edge to let the browser save memory on inactive tabs. If SysMain (Superfetch) is causing high drive and CPU activity on your PC, you can try disabling it, although be mindful that it may slow down app launches and make your PC feel more sluggish.
If those steps don’t help and your committed memory is genuinely maxed out, it’s time to upgrade. Before buying, check your system’s current configuration with a tool like Speccy to ensure you know your motherboard’s RAM slots and supported speeds. If you have an empty slot, adding a matching module is cheaper and simpler than replacing all of your RAM—just make sure to match the speed and type of your existing RAM.
