How to let Windows use less RAM memory with these outragous RAM prices

With the sky-high prices for RAM, upgrading right now is a expensive joke. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do on the software side to 'debloat' Windows, so your PC runs smoothly again without you having to spend a single cent.

1. Disable Startup Programs (Fastest win)

Many programs secretly launch with Windows and keep eating up memory in the background.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. In the left menu, click on Startup apps (or the Startup tab).
3. Look for heavy apps you don't need immediately upon booting (such as Spotify, Steam, Discord, Teams, OneDrive).
4. Click on the app and select Disable.

2. Adjust Your Browser (The biggest RAM hog)

Browsers like Chrome and Edge consume an enormous amount of RAM. With two quick settings, you can cut their memory usage in half:

• Enable Memory Saver: In Chrome or Edge, go to Settings \rightarrow Performance and turn on Memory Saver. This automatically puts unused tabs to 'sleep'.
• Stop background processes: In your browser settings, search for "Continue running background apps when browser is closed" and turn this toggle OFF.

3. Disable Windows Background Apps

Many default Windows apps remain active continuously.

• Windows 11: Go to Settings \rightarrow Apps \rightarrow Installed apps. For unnecessary apps, click the three dots \rightarrow Advanced options \rightarrow set Background apps permissions to Never.
• Windows 10: Go to Settings \rightarrow Privacy \rightarrow Background apps and turn the main switch off.

4. Turn Off Heavy Visual Effects

Transparency and animations look nice, but they constantly cost memory.

1. Press Windows Key + R, type sysdm.cpl, and press Enter.
2. Go to the Advanced tab and click Settings under Performance.
3. Select Adjust for best performance.
4. Tip: Do re-check "Smooth edges of screen fonts", otherwise your text will look jagged.

5. Stop the "SysMain" Service (Advanced)

SysMain (formerly Superfetch) preloads programs into your RAM to open them faster. On systems with less memory or a fast SSD, this often causes unnecessarily high RAM usage.

1. Press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to SysMain.
3. Double-click it, click Stop, and set the Startup type to Disabled.
4. Click Apply and restart your PC.

Good to know: Windows prefers to use RAM dynamically. If you have 8 GB of RAM and Windows uses 4 to 5 GB at idle, that is normal—unused memory is essentially 'wasted' memory. You only experience actual slowdowns when programs crash or the meter stays continuously above 85–90%.