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Microsoft once tried to cut Windows 11 RAM usage, install size by 20%, now it’s trying again in 2026
(www.windowslatest.com)
(laughs in linux)
good luck with that
this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2026
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If it worked out, the idle Windows 11 RAM usage would’ve been around 4.8GB
Me on beefy Linux distro with a metric ton of garbage installed: 3.2GB
Good luck vibe coding memory efficiency...
is it even possible to vibe code efficient memory use properly?
Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
ok. is it even remotely more cost-effective than doing the old-fashioned optimizing?
Probably not but maybe. It's a gamble that I'm guessing most MBAs would love to make!
i guess a better way is just make something less RAM heavy from the get go.
Good luck with that if it's being vibe coded.
i don't think vibe coding will be that sophisticated any time soon.
As long as they are based on LLMs, I don't think it ever will be. But it will get better at pretending it is and passing tests.
the more i know about LLM and their numerous issues the less enthusiastic i am about this whole current AI thing.
Copilot. Make no mistakes and be efficient with memory usage.
Hahahahahah
16GB RAM. ~3500 packages building up a nightmarish franken-debian of like ~250ish apps. 1.5GB RAM usage on boot. optimisation really does wonders
edit: yes, true story btw
Just tell your AI agents to reduce the RAM usage and install size by 20% and let them rip. How hard can it be?
Simple, NoPilot can just erase all your files. Binaries can't take up memory of they can't be loaded.
More like tell your users to only run services in the cloud and not to run anything on their own computers.
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Maybe they should try not writing OS code in react. Perhaps they should consider dedicating as many resources to cleaning up code as they do to adding “features.”
Amateurs. On my personal pc, windows RAM usage is exactly 0.
All at a time where I think I’m actually going to switch to Linux.
I just tried out an install on my laptop and boy does it work well even for gaming.
Windows has, nothing I actually need any more?
It feels really big to really leave Windows for good, but, I think it’s going to happen after a bit more testing of my Linux setup.
I told myself I'd give Win11 (using tools to uninstall all the bullshit/tracking) for 3-4 months before seriously considering linux. I made it 3 months, got tired of having to re-uninstall shit I don't want every update and just flat out wiped the install and installed CachyOS. It's been perfect, even new game releases like Death Stranding 2 worked out of the box, fuck windows.
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Maybe they should make a really new windows version and not a mix from 7,8,10 patched together.. with all the problems carried + AI coding making things worse.
They still haven't been able to replicate functionality in settings compared to control panel. Going from scratch is just gonna get us the rumored win 12 that's only ai
Well, when i said new OS, I was not meaning AI slop from scratch.
Since NT 4.0 it's just bloat. They never rewrote the whole codebase. It makes sense for backwards compatibility but falls apart when you're installing a driver via 30 years old GUI.
If it worked out, the idle Windows 11 RAM usage would’ve been around 4.8GB
That's still a lot
Really a lot considering that most WinXP installs couldn't even use more than 3.5 GB of RAM at maximum
Considering 8GB systems are back in vogue, that's a fuckload. More than half your ram just going to the computer existing.
Well no, its doing more than just existing, its sending screen shots of your screen to Microsoft, displaying ads, updating advertising ID to allow them to track you across the web, uploading your typing history It all helps shareholders of microslop.
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Windows 11 is not based on a single unified UI framework. Instead, it uses a mix of legacy Win32 components, UWP elements, modern WinUI layers, and web-based technologies like WebView2 and React.
I am reading this as MMC snap-ins and control panel. There is no other alternative to manage these settings outside of PowerShell.
Also, what idiot decided that only one settings window is allowed open at one time? Sometimes I would like to be in Windows update, power settings, Ethernet settings, and printer settings all at once.
I hate how the settings app is taking over control panel entries to make them worse and show me the original control panel window after going down 3 levels because the stupid fucks can't design UI for shit.
Thankfully, you can still get to a lot of them if you know the name of the control panel applet.
Want to see the advanced settings for a network adapter?
Good luck finding it, fucko
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Fighting with their shitty "new" UI trying to find the old Sound UI to fix an issue that their new UI doesn't even have a toggle for really chapped my ass.
This bullshit right here is what finally pushed me over the edge and into the warm embrace of a penguin.
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I wish windows went down a different path. Instead they decided to double down on ads and ai, because shareholders are more important than the actual customers
Their real customers don't see the ads with Windows 11 Enterprise and AI is controllable with Intune and GPO. You're not the primary customer.
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Ironically the install ISO actually went up in size from roughly 5.5GB to 7.5GB in the recent months.
All that tracking software is bloated.
Agreed but also have you tried to write a feature with LLMs? It will occasionally just add extra files that do the same thing as one library you already have.
You can even catch it and it will be like oh your right then continue without deleting, so next prompt it decides to use its own library again.
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I was about to bring this up. If they just removed all of the slop they implemented in the past 6 months, they could hit that 20% real easy.
Microslop?
There's some very aggressive autocorrect programs that seem to be bloating all their current software. They should start with taking those out.
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