What are some Windows services/applications/default startups I can disable to lower RAM usage?
Right now on a new(ish) installation of Windows 10 Pro it's at around 2GB (out of 4), I'd like it to be 1.5GB or otherwise as low as possible. No non-essential third party apps are running in the background.
I heard disabling the Superfetch service can lower RAM usage by a large amount... but other than that...
How much are you typically using after startup---when you are doing what you need to do on the machine?
If you have 4, I'd be eager to use all 4, rather than have it not being used.
My first computer [back in '92] came with 4MB RAM and 120MB HDD. No problem with RAM until about the 8th page in WordPerfect for Windows so the first upgrade was to 8MB, next upgrade was to a 210MB HDD. From those experiences I learned not to worry about how much RAM Windows used if not having problems but to upgrade as needed. I try to have double the requirement, 1GB for x86 and 2GB for x64, but tend to get the maximum in Notebooks and 8GB in Desktops. A whole lot depends upon one's needs, large spreadsheets and databases, video recording/editing, architectural drawings, things that are memory intensive need more but then they usually need better computers than most off-the-shelf models. I've also noticed over time that regardless of settings some program in Windows will try to use all the RAM it can get.
You're going to want at least 8GB for the very reason that the GUI-enabled systems require about 4GB to run smoothly when you have everything enabled. If you start pruning those back then the minimum necessary goes down. Space on the system drive "C:" is also a factor. This is necessary because of how Windows handles virtual memory. I use Ccleaner on my system to remove junk that wast real estate. You could also set performance to make things better.Right click on "My Computer" and select "Properties" Go to "Advanced System settings" and Select "Performance Settings" Select "Adjust for best performance" and click on"Apply".Click on "OK" and Restart. Keep in mind you'll lose a lot of visual effects. But as I Said at the start you should upgrade the RAM to 8GB for better performance.
If the ram can be upgraded on the laptop I would do that instead of turning things off.
This is on the surface an attractive idea but not really useful in a modern OS.
It is based on the old idea that memory is a precious resource that should be used as sparingly as possible. And it was a valid idea when hardware resources were limited and operating systems were simple. I mean when 4 MB of RAM was a lot and 1 GB was a utopian dream. But that idea has been obsolete for decades.
Modern operating systems follow the principle that memory is the fastest storage in the system and should be used to the fullest possible extent. The memory manager will try to use as much memory as possible for some purpose, even if it is only of trivial value. Unused memory is wasted memory. This principle has been followed in Windows since the introduction of NT in 1993. It has always been used in Linux and in the Mac since the introduction of OSX in 2001. But the principle is much older than that, being used in large computer systems since the 1960's.
The goal in modern memory manager systems is to maximize overall system performance, not to minimize memory usage. A great deal of research and testing has gone into it's development. Can you do better? Possible, but the odds against it are long.
If you own the RAM, it's best to use it. RAM is faster than your hard drive. Your system will free up RAM when things are not in use.
Your best bet is to disable the auto start of applications that don't need to be running. For example, look at things in your system tray and shut them off from autostarting. Especially with SSD's being more the norm now, just let the adobe suite start up when you click on it, or your steam game client.
Windows memory management is quite efficient, you shouldn't need to manage it yourself. Typically Windows will have about half your installed RAM in use, whether you have 2GB, 4GB or 8GB. At 16GB installed it levels off at about 4GB in use. When a program needs more memory used memory will be released, by caching in use code, or if demands are extreme stopping the less essential services.
I heard disabling the Superfetch service can lower RAM usage by a large amount...
Actually no. Superfetch does not put anything in the memory marked as 'in use'. What Superfetch does is fill the unused memory with cached software and files that you regularly use, making them faster to load. This Standby memory is the first to be released when you programs ask for more memory.
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