Memory usage stays too high

Guest · Jan 25, 2015

I have a gaming PC with 16 GB of ram and after I do something that takes up a lot of ram like playing a game the ram usage will stay at high levels such as 8 or 12 GB even after I close the program. I have tried MemTestX86 and other mem test software created as a bootable disk and I have run multiple virus scans from many various virus removal programs such as Malwarebytes, SpyBot S&D 2, and AVG. None of those picked up anything. The only way I can get the Memory usage to go back down is if I close Google Chrome and re open it (I usually have Chrome open on one of my other monitors while I play games or use other programs so I can look up things pertaining to them or while I wait for something to happen.) I am not sure what could be going wrong and I have asked many computer shop people and they all say try to figure it out for yourself first so you don't end up spending lots of money if it turns out it is an easy fix.

Also when I start up the computer The ram stays at around 4-5 GB even though I don't have many startup programs open. I also need to know how to fix that because my friend said on his computer with similar specs to mine he is able to start up and have like 2-3 GB or less even when he has Google Chrome open with lots of tabs open.

nukemaster · Jan 25, 2015

Are you going by the amount of used memory or the free section in the task manager.

The free tab shows what is left after caching while the available shows how much you can use if needed. Cached memory will upload if the space is needed for something else.

The feature(superfetch) started with Windows Vista to give all the extra ram something to do. Programs you use often will get cached so they load faster. It is not perfect, but it should not cause any harm.

photonboy · Jan 25, 2015

It's not an issue likely.

Windows will simply keep buffering whatever you open (games, browser data etc) into your System memory until it is a certain percentage full (80%?). This is done for faster access compared to an SSD or hard drive.

The Windows memory manager will automatically remove data if needed such as starting a new game.

*Unless you actually are getting "out of memory" errors you have nothing to worry about.

(Windows can buffer more data if you have 16GB than if you have 8GB which again is a good thing usually.)

Rit_86 · Jan 25, 2015

Let me clear up a few things.
First, Chrome (and Firefox) does use an obscene lot of memory, especially if you have lots of tabs open with high quality contents. So, if you are determined to reduce memory usage, stop running them in the background.
Second, IMO, you don't need any program other than the AV at the startup. So other than the AV, disable all of them. You will get a much faster computer.
Third, if you have malwarebytes installed, uninstall it. It is a great program for malware detection only. Keeping it running gives some undesired results (I even had BSODs) and also has some known memory leakage problems.
Fourth, what AV are you using? Try using a different free, light one like 360 Total Security and see if it helps.
Fifth, do not compare your system with your friend's. Each system is tuned differently and even though it may seem similar on the surface, I am sure they are not exactly identical in the software they are running, so memory usage will vary.
Lastly, you won't have to worry about the memory usage unless you are experiencing system slowdowns. Windows has excellent memory management and you have plenty of RAM.
Hope this helps you

photonboy · Jan 28, 2015

Rit_86 :

1) I agree about Google Chrome and browsers. He even tell us his memory usage goes down if he closes it. He doesn't seem to understand that Chrome or any browser just keep using more memory as time goes on.

It's worth pointing out you can CAP the memory usage to whatever you want for any browser. If you have plenty of memory it's not necessarily worthwhile.

I also always close my browsers when gaming.

2) I don't DISABLE any programs on startup. I noticed Steam and a couple other programs add a few seconds to startup but I want those running. Plus, they don't use too much memory or CPU cycles especially if you have 16GB of memory. (Steam shows 62MB right now for me and he has over 16,000MB).

3) Malwarebytes - I can't comment on this, though I have had issues with similar programs in the past. I should point out there's no need to remove the FREE version since it's a manual scan so doesn't run in the background.

4) Antivirus - I uses Avast (not the best I know) but it doesn't use very much memory. I don't think memory usage is an issue for any program since he has 16GB. I'm only using 25MB with Avast (when not scanning). That's less than my mouse software.

5) Compare to friends. Exactly, you can't compare.

Summary:
As I said above, I don't even think he has an issue at all.

Sure he can and should close all web browsers before gaming but he hasn't reported running out of memory so I don't see any problem at all.

Other:
Not sure if I said but the Windows Index can sometimes eat way too much memory. Regardless there's a program called RAMMAP that can tell you what's eating all memory (Task Manager won't show everything):
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ff700229.aspx

*When my memory usage suddenly went too high I ran RAMMAP, then Googled the name of the EXE using a lot of memory and it turned out to be an index issue. I then disabled indexing, rebooted and had no issue since (except telling me I haven't indexed my drives when I search them for something)

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