RAM Usage is incredibly high

[DoYouEvenKnowWhatACpuIs?]

So I open up task manager and it showed that my ram usage was 80 percent. I searched up a solution and they said to go to the registry editor and edit the NDU Start from 2 to 4. Is this safe and are there any other solutions?

[Parideboy]

Specs of the system?
What programs are you running?
In task manager under the processes tab, if you order by ram consumption what programs show up?

 

As a side note, ideally, ram usage should be as close to 100% as possible. Unused ram is wasted ram. Windows will free ram if the system needs more.

[Moonzy]

how many GB is 80%?

if it's 4GB, then it's very normal as windows on startup on all of my PC (minimal things installed) is at ~3.2-3.5GB

[ER1CA]

it really depends. If you have 4gb of RAM 80% usage is pretty normal in windows 10 but the best tips that I can give is to check your startup programs and to check task manager to see which programs are running in the background.

 

Disable the programs that you don't need. Common Ram hungry programs include things like Anti-Virus Software and various game launchers

[DoYouEvenKnowWhatACpuIs?]

I have 12 gb of ram. DDR4. I have a gtx 1050ti Intel Core i7 - 8750H 2.20 GHz.

[homeap5]

It's nothing wrong with 80% ram usage, even if you have 12GB. Made small test - open few more programs and you'll see that ram usage remains under 100%. If you want to keep your ram unused, remove it from computer.

[Mark Kaine]

On 10/26/2020 at 12:30 PM, Parideboy said:

As a side note, ideally, ram usage should be as close to 100% as possible. Unused ram is wasted ram

This meme needs to die already. You know probably damn well no one wants this and I also tell you why, because when windows starts its "memory swapping feature" it will make a pc extremely slow and sluggish, and *that's* why no one wants this (including Microsoft Windows ironically) 

 3-4GB is ok, everything more than that when no programs are running you have an issue that you should check ASAP (probably virus /troyan tbh) 

 

 

On 10/26/2020 at 12:38 PM, ER1CA said:

it really depends. If you have 4gb of RAM 80% usage is pretty normal in windows 10 but the best tips that I can give is to check your startup programs and to check task manager to see which programs are running in the background.

 

Disable the programs that you don't need. Common Ram hungry programs include things like Anti-Virus Software and various game launchers

True, it could be some memory hog like NZXT CAM for example ... 

[Moonzy]

On 10/26/2020 at 7:38 PM, DoYouEvenKnowWhatACpuIs? said:

I have 12 gb of ram. DDR4. I have a gtx 1050ti Intel Core i7 - 8750H 2.20 GHz.

i recommend you do a fresh OS install to get rid of junks that have been accumulated throughout the time of use

 

also welcome to the forum, remember to quote/mention ( @Moonzy) the person you're replying or else they wont see it

[Mark Kaine]

On 10/26/2020 at 12:34 PM, Moonzy said:

how many GB is 80%?

if it's 4GB, then it's very normal as windows on startup on all of my PC (minimal things installed) is at ~3.2-3.5GB

I think I got mine down to ~2.2GB : D

 

 

Also my 'extensive' startup section lol

 

 

 

20 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

i recommend you do a fresh OS install to get rid of junks that have been accumulated throughout the time of use

 

Seems a bit drastic but I also don't really have an idea how to fix this (it's hard to say from a remote position) so might as well. 

 

I'd probably recommend doing a thorough virus / malware / adware check first (as that is incidentally the only thing I know can cause the behavior the OP is describing) 

 

-malwarebytes 

-adw 

-defender 

 

Full scan each. 

[Parideboy]

4 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

This meme needs to die already. You know probably damn well no one wants this and I also tell you why, because when windows starts its "memory swapping feature" it will make a pc extremely slow and sluggish, and *that's* why no one wants this (including Microsoft Windows ironically) 

 3-4GB is ok, everything more than that when no programs are running you have an issue that you should check ASAP (probably virus /troyan tbh)

It's not a meme, it's how Windows works. Far from me to say if that's a good or bad behavior, but that's just how it is.

 

Windows will keep a buffer of free memory, the amount varies depending on how much ram the system has. Once this buffer starts shrinking, Windows will drop the stand-by memory first (which is memory that contains cached data, not in use by any application) without touching any pagefile. If the system needs more memory and there's no stand-by memory left (i.e. 7.99 gb in use in a system that has only 8 gigs of memory), Windows will start swapping causing slowdowns.

 

Windows will always try to use all the ram, taskmanager only shows the percentage of the active, in use by processes memory.

 

This is what I ment with 100% of memory utilization:

[Guest]

On 10/26/2020 at 7:22 AM, DoYouEvenKnowWhatACpuIs? said:

So I open up task manager and it showed that my ram usage was 80 percent. I searched up a solution and they said to go to the registry editor and edit the NDU Start from 2 to 4. Is this safe and are there any other solutions?

You shouldn't have to edit the registry to get your RAM usage down, at least in most scenarios. I would disagree slightly with my comrades on this thread and say that 80 percent usage at idle is not ideal, especially with 12GB of RAM to play with. That means Windows is utilizing a big chunk of RAM to do...essentially nothing. Unless of course you have a dozen background apps that are just resource hogs, this isn't typical for most Windows installs. The OS would normally take up 3-5 under normal circumstances, give or take a GB.

 

I'd start simple - check your Task Manager and see what your biggest program hog is and then determine whether you really need it to run. Also check your startups and see if you truly need those as well. Lastly, do a soft reset (Settings > Update & Security > Recovery). This'll get rid of junk files and general clutter but keep your personal files. Optionally, you can run something like CCleaner which can be helpful in certain use cases, despite most people's hate of the program.

[homeap5]

Hey guys! OP gets answers already and I don't think he read this topic anymore.

[Mark Kaine]

15 hours ago, Stylized_Violence said:

I would disagree slightly with my comrades on this thread and say that 80 percent usage at idle is not ideal, especially with 12GB of RAM to play with. That means Windows is utilizing a big chunk of RAM to do...essentially nothing

There is no disagreement, windows should never use that much ram while idling, 10-20% is normal. 

 

15 hours ago, Stylized_Violence said:

Settings > Update & Security > Recovery).

That might help but I would really recommended doing a thorough virus scan first because it really does sound like the pc is probably chuck full of them. 

 

"slow windows, hi ram..." etc is usually adware, malware etc. 

 

Or windows update orchestrator (the worst case scenario lol)