What just happened? Microsoft has been promising Windows 11 performance improvement for 8GB PCs for several months. Now, the Redmond giant has dived into the specifics of what that means. It claims the OS is up to 20% more responsive and multitasking is up to 40% faster, but those figures will be best-case scenarios.
Microsoft has spent much of 2026 vowing to improve Windows 11. With the AI-driven memory crisis continuing to make RAM prices akin to that of gold, part of the upgrades has been to make the OS run better on 8GB machines.
Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft's executive vice president of Windows and Devices, writes that the company is taking a 3-pronged approach to this task: making better use of the memory in Windows 11 PCs, protecting the interactions that need to feel instant even under load, and ensuring key apps and Windows require less memory.
Microsoft does acknowledge that Windows 11 PCs with 16GB or 32GB are still going to be better, performance-wise, but it adds that "we're making sure you can do more, even with 8GB."
Those 20% more responsive and 40% faster figures come from Microsoft's own lab tests, so don't expect to see an exact replica of these results.
It was reported last month that Windows can retain up to 2GB more active data in RAM instead of shunting it to slower storage. Tweaked compression should mean fewer reloads when returning to an app or browser tab.
Windows also eases off background tasks such as search indexing to prioritize what you're actually doing. The responsiveness claims cover actions such as opening Start, Settings, and File Explorer, compared with January's update.
The multitasking test involved opening 20 Edge tabs, a 4K video, large Office files, Outlook, and File Explorer, keeping everything running.
Microsoft also claims its Windows, Edge, and Microsoft 365 changes reduced committed-memory growth by up to 900MB in multitasking tests, leaving more room for apps.
There are smaller savings, too. Widgets only load when opened on PCs with 8GB or less, reducing memory commitment by roughly 200 MB while closed, while Edge now puts inactive tabs to sleep after 15 minutes rather than two hours.
To get the improvements, Microsoft says to install Windows 11 26H2 build 26300.9818 or later, and keep Edge, Microsoft 365, and Teams updated.
The improvements can't come soon enough for Microsoft's own hardware. A July review of its 8GB Surface Laptop found it freezing during Teams calls with around 10 Chrome tabs, Slack, and Signal open, plus random hangs in Google Docs.
Microsoft says Windows is now 20% more responsive and 40% faster at multitasking on 8GB PCs
