Windows 11 Gets Faster! Microsoft Announces Performance Improvements

Microsoft has announced new Windows 11 optimizations, particularly targeting computers with 8 GB of RAM. According to the company, these improvements can increase system responsiveness by up to 20% and multitasking performance by up to 40% in specific tests.

This development is particularly interesting for users with limited RAM capacity in their laptops and desktop computers. Microsoft aims to make better use of existing hardware and reduce delays when switching between applications.

Windows 11 Memory Management Has Been Improved

The main focus of Microsoft's changes is memory management. Windows 11 can now compress less frequently used data more efficiently and keep it in RAM.

According to the company, this improvement allows the system to retain up to 2 GB more active data in memory. As a result, when users switch between applications or return to previously opened browser tabs, the system may need to reload less data.

These changes are expected to improve everyday performance, especially on computers equipped with 8 GB of RAM.

Start Menu and File Explorer Open Faster

Microsoft has also optimized several components frequently used in everyday Windows operations.

According to the company's measurements, components such as the Start Menu, Windows Search, Settings, File Explorer, context menus, and Snipping Tool can respond up to 20% faster.

These improvements are based on more efficient processor resource management. Higher priority is given to the tasks users are actively performing, while the resource consumption of certain background processes is reduced.

Microsoft Edge and Teams Are Also Faster

The Windows 11 optimizations also extend to Microsoft's other applications.

Microsoft Edge can make more efficient use of background processes, allowing new windows to open up to 33% faster. In addition, inactive browser tabs are automatically placed into sleep mode after 15 minutes by default.

For Microsoft Teams, Efficiency Mode is planned to be enabled by default on computers with 8 GB of RAM. Microsoft says this change can improve application startup times by up to 20%.

Memory usage has also been reduced across Microsoft 365 applications. The optimizations in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook reportedly provide approximately 360 MB of memory savings.

Multitasking Performance Increased by Up to 40%

One of Microsoft's most notable announcements concerns multitasking performance.

The company's laboratory test was conducted on an HP OmniBook 3 equipped with 8 GB of RAM. During the test, 20 Microsoft Edge tabs were opened simultaneously, a 4K video was played, and large Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files were used. Outlook and File Explorer were also included in the testing process.

Microsoft reported that the overall task completion time improved by up to 40% compared with Windows builds from January 2026.

However, these results are based on specific hardware and testing conditions. Therefore, the same 40% performance improvement should not be expected on every Windows 11 computer.

How to Get the Windows 11 Update

Microsoft recommends using Windows 11 version 26H2, build 26300.9818 or newer, to benefit from the latest performance and memory optimizations.

Users can check for updates by following these steps:

1. Open Windows Settings.

2. Navigate to the Windows Update section.

3. Enable the option to receive the latest updates as soon as they become available.

4. Click Check for Updates.

5. Keep Microsoft Edge, Microsoft 365, and Teams updated as well.

Some improvements are also delivered through individual application updates rather than Windows updates alone.

Is 8 GB of RAM Enough for Windows 11?

Microsoft's optimizations may help computers with 8 GB of RAM run more smoothly during everyday tasks. This memory capacity can be used more efficiently for web browsing, office applications, and basic computer operations.

However, Microsoft still recommends 16 GB of RAM or more for demanding workloads such as 3D modeling, professional video editing, and large-scale data processing.

Overall, Windows 11's latest optimizations represent an important development that could help users get more performance out of their existing hardware. However, software improvements cannot replace physical RAM capacity. Higher memory capacity remains essential for users who regularly perform resource-intensive tasks.