Microsoft said Tuesday that Windows 11 is up to 20% more responsive on PCs with 8 GB of memory, while higher component costs add pressure to computer makers.
TrendForce projected a 10% to 15% quarter-over-quarter increase in conventional DRAM contract prices for the fourth quarter of 2026. Suppliers have favored advanced-process capacity for high-performance server products, the research firm said, and notebook inventories already reflect higher component costs. Its forecast does not measure retail RAM prices.
Microsoft based its responsiveness figure on telemetry from 8 GB PCs running Windows 11 builds 26300.9550 and 26200.7628. It measured actions including Search, Start, Settings, File Explorer, right-clicking and the Snipping Tool. The company did not give a device count and said results vary with configuration and use.
For the separate up-to-40% multitasking result, Microsoft tested a single 8 GB HP OmniBook 3 powered by a Snapdragon X Plus 8-Core processor. Microsoft compared builds 26200.7623 and 26200.9445 while running 20 Edge tabs, a 4K video, large Word, PowerPoint and Excel files, Outlook and File Explorer. It said automated checks tracked the tasks and cautioned that the result applies to that setup.
Microsoft said changes to memory compression let Windows retain up to 2 GB of additional active data in memory, reducing transfers to storage. In September 2026 multitasking tests, the increase in committed memory for Windows, Edge and Microsoft 365 was up to 900 MB smaller. In a separate measurement, it put savings from Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook at 360 MB.
Widgets stay unloaded until opened on PCs with 8 GB of memory or less, leaving about 200 MB less committed memory in use while closed, Microsoft said. Edge now defaults to putting idle tabs to sleep after 15 minutes, compared with two hours previously.
The changes follow a memory-efficiency focus Microsoft described in July for PCs with at least 8 GB. The company points users to Windows 11 version 26H2, build 26300.9818 or later, and recommends updates to Edge, Microsoft 365 and Teams. Microsoft Learn lists the Windows build as available Oct. 28.
Microsoft said work such as 3D modeling, advanced video editing and processing large data sets still benefits from 16 GB of memory or more. Over the coming months, it plans to refine compression, share web engines across more apps and work with hardware partners to reduce memory reserved for devices. It gave no specific date for those changes.
