MICROSOFT IMPROVES WINDOWS 11 PERFORMANCE ON 8GB PCS

Microsoft said on Tuesday it is "raising the bar for 8 GB Windows 11 PCs," detailing software changes for machines with 8 gigabytes of memory. The update follows a renewed focus on memory optimisation this year, as RAM prices climb amid demand linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure. Microsoft said the changes make machines up to 20 per cent more responsive and 40 per cent faster at multitasking, tested by running 20 Edge tabs, a 4K video and large Office files simultaneously. Microsoft continues promoting its Copilot+ PC range, which requires at least 16 gigabytes of RAM.

Windows 11 will keep up to 2 gigabytes more active data in memory before moving it to storage, Microsoft said. Since January, interactions such as opening Start, File Explorer and Settings have become up to 20 per cent more responsive, Microsoft said. Edge can launch up to 33 per cent faster when running in the background, and Teams' Efficiency Mode, switched on by default on 8 gigabyte machines, cuts launch times by up to 20 per cent. Office apps including Word and Outlook now use up to 360 megabytes less memory, while widgets load only when opened and Edge tabs sleep after 15 minutes rather than two hours.

Microsoft pointed to newer hardware, saying a 2026 Dell XPS 13 with 8 gigabytes of RAM delivers over 90 per cent faster multi-core processor performance than its 2021 predecessor. The same model matched a 2021 configuration with twice the memory on web browsing, 4K video export and some artificial intelligence tasks, Microsoft said. The company said 16 gigabytes of RAM or more remains recommended for processor-intensive creative work. Microsoft included benchmark data from research it commissioned.