Win 10 Using 10% RAM (out of 24GB) after fresh boot

[foreverahippy]

Hey guys.
I've had my new computer a few weeks now and just noticed that in the task manager, under 'Processes', it says "10%" at the top of the RAM column. If I hover over it, it says "Total physical memory reserved by individual processes". If I move to the "Users" tab, the number at the top of the "Memory" column reads "10%" and underneath it shows 355MB in use (which is obviously no where near 10% of 24GB).
So, basically I'm wondering if this is all normal.
My first thought is that the 355MB listed is the actual RAM in use and that that is different from the amount "reserved by individual processes". If that's the case, it seems extremely counter-intuitive that the number in a column (355MB) wouldn't be the amount being referenced by the "10%" at the top of said column.
Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.

 

[Slashgeek]

Aside from the various nuances of working set memory, virtual vs physical memory, and cached memory, the memory usage per user found in the "Users" tab only indicates applications running under that user's account. It does not include system processes, whose memory usage can add up to very large figures.

 

[foreverahippy]

Thank you for your response.
I guess that solves the confusion about the % not corresponding to the amount of RAM listed as in use... But, wouldn't you think that the % listed on the Users tab should only be showing the % that that User is using? Bit weird.
So, that still leaves the question of why Windows 10 is using 2GB of RAM right after a fresh boot. I mean, I do have 24GB, so it's not that big of a deal. But if I had only 4GB would Windows 10 really be using half with nothing open? =-0
Does Windows use more RAM if you have more RAM?
Thank you for your time =)

 

[basroil]

The users tab is a carry over from Windows Server (also in Windows 8) that shows profile exclusive memory use. The core Windows components that don't belong to any user (most of the svchosts, some driver components, etc) will not be present in the users tab but will show up in the overall system use.

"So, that still leaves the question of why Windows 10 is using 2GB of RAM right after a fresh boot. I mean, I do have 24GB, so it's not that big of a deal. But if I had only 4GB would Windows 10 really be using half with nothing open? =-0
Does Windows use more RAM if you have more RAM?"

The more memory you have the more Windows will try to claim exclusively to improve system performance, especially when it comes to disk IO. But more than that the memory used depends on the system hardware and how much memory must be reserved for that hardware.
On my 8gb Surface Pro 3 Win10 starts up with 1.7GB use (21%), and on my 4GB VM it takes up 1.2GB (30%). I'm having issues starting up the VM with only 2GB right now, but i've run it with 1GB without scratch space, so it certainly goes below 1GB use.

EDIT: Got 2GB working agian, idles at ~790-860, so ~42% , and that is without disabling anything that comes in Windows 10 Pro by default (but changing desktop fanciness off) at 32bit 1080p resolution (which by itself requires ~64MB of ram). At 1GB, it idles around 640MB in-use (same other settings as above), but at this point it's almost useless since it warns you about low memory at startup! Main issue is of course disk caching (no easy way to disable it from inside a VM) taking up ~300MB (leaving you just 50MB to use), but even without that it's still 64% memory use at 1GB (which is below the recommended minimum memory for Windows 10 64bit)

Basically, if you have under 4GB of ram you should be prepared to sacrifice something to get default memory use down, usually cortana, print and other drivers, and lowering the screen resolution, or just using 32bit Windows 10 in conjunction with some or all of the above.

 

[foreverahippy]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I guess 2GB+ of RAM in use, right off the bat, is normal for Windows 10.

I do want to point out though that I still don't believe that the % listed at the top of the Memory column on the Users tab should read exactly the same as the overall % of memory in use on the Performance tab. I'm just nit picking, but surely the % displayed on the Users tab should be the % in use by that user.

 

[Slashgeek]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I guess 2GB+ of RAM in use, right off the bat, is normal for Windows 10.

I do want to point out though that I still don't believe that the % listed at the top of the Memory column on the Users tab should read exactly the same as the overall % of memory in use on the Performance tab. I'm just nit picking, but surely the % displayed on the Users tab should be the % in use by that user.

That figure on the top of the Memory column is total memory usage by the system and all users. If you had multiple users running at the same time, it would make no sense for a single user's memory usage percentage to be there.

 

[basroil]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I guess 2GB+ of RAM in use, right off the bat, is normal for Windows 10.

I do want to point out though that I still don't believe that the % listed at the top of the Memory column on the Users tab should read exactly the same as the overall % of memory in use on the Performance tab. I'm just nit picking, but surely the % displayed on the Users tab should be the % in use by that user.

Even if there's only one human user, there are other "users" on your computer, from low level drivers to core windows components, using names like Local Service, Network Service, and System. Basically anything shared between users if there were two or more human users is not counted as a "user" application, and only shows up in the other tabs (like performance and maybe details)

 

[foreverahippy]

Thank you for the explanation, guys. =)