Speed Up Windows 11 on 4GB RAM: 4 Easy Tweaks

To speed up Windows 11 on 4GB RAM, start with four free changes: enable the Ultimate Performance power plan, set a fixed paging file on your SSD, trim Chrome’s memory use, and stop unneeded background apps.

This guide is for anyone with a 4GB laptop, a Core i3-class processor, or a PC where Windows 11 feels sluggish after a few browser tabs. On my own laptop, these changes made it noticeably smoother, and the paging file and Chrome steps made the biggest difference.

Why Windows 11 Feels Slow on a Low-RAM PC

Windows 11 runs on 4GB, but it leaves very little room for anything else. Once memory fills up, Windows starts moving data to disk, and everything stutters.

Here is what that looked like on my machine. Task Manager showed memory at 85%, with Chrome alone running 23 processes and using about 1,128 MB.

Generic “speed up your PC” lists fail because they treat every slowdown the same. On low RAM, the order matters: fix power throttling first, give Windows a safety net for memory, then cut the biggest consumer, which is usually the browser.

If your PC is slow for reasons other than memory, such as startup apps or a full disk, our guide on proven fixes for a PC running slow on Windows 11 covers those causes.

Step 1: Turn On the Hidden Ultimate Performance Power Plan

The Ultimate Performance plan tells Windows to stop holding the CPU back to save power. It is hidden by default on most PCs, but one command reveals it.

1. Press Win + S, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
2. Paste this command and press Enter:

powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

3. Press Win + R, type powercfg.cpl and press Enter.
4. Select Ultimate Performance. If you don’t see it, click “Show additional plans”.

Who should skip this: if you rely on battery life, use this plan only while plugged in. It increases power draw, so a laptop will drain faster.

Step 2: Use Your SSD as Extra Virtual Memory

When physical RAM runs out, Windows uses a paging file on disk. A larger, fixed paging file on an SSD gives Windows breathing room instead of freezing. It does not replace real RAM, but it softens the worst lag.

1. Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter.
2. Open the Advanced tab, then click Settings under Performance.
3. Open the Advanced tab again and click Change under Virtual memory.
4. Untick Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
5. Select drive C: and choose Custom size.
6. Set Initial size to 4096 and Maximum size to 8192 (in MB).
7. Click Set, then OK, and restart.

Important: do this only if Windows is installed on an SSD. On a mechanical hard drive, a bigger paging file can make things slower, not faster. Also keep at least 10 to 15 GB of free space on C:.

Step 3: Tame Chrome’s Memory Drain

Chrome runs each tab, extension and background service as a separate process, which is why a few tabs can show dozens of entries in Task Manager. Three settings and one extension fix most of it.

Chrome settings to change

• Open Settings > Performance and turn on Memory Saver so inactive tabs are put to sleep.
• Open Settings > System and turn on Use graphics acceleration when available. This moves work to the GPU and frees some CPU.
• In the same System page, turn off Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed.
• Restart Chrome after changing these.

Park tabs with OneTab

OneTab converts open tabs into a single list, so they stop using memory until you reopen them. The more tabs you park, the more memory you get back, so results depend on how many tabs you normally keep open.

Quick tip: keep only the tabs you are actively using. Park the rest instead of leaving them “for later”.

Step 4: Clean Up Background Processes in Task Manager

Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc, click the Memory column to sort, and look at the top of the list. Not everything there is safe to close.

Right-click an app and choose End task only if you recognize it. For apps that keep coming back, open the Startup apps page and disable them there instead.

Bonus: reduce visual effects

Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, then Advanced > Performance Settings. Choose Custom and keep only Show thumbnails instead of icons and Smooth edges of screen fonts ticked. Click Apply, then OK.

Step 5: Be Careful With Bloatware Removers

Third-party “debloat” and uninstaller tools can break Windows if they remove system components. Some Windows apps are flagged as permanent or protected for a reason, and forcing them out can cause update errors, a broken Start menu or boot problems.

If you still want a cleanup tool for junk files, choose carefully. Our roundup of the best PC cleaner tools for Windows 11 focuses on options that are safe and fast.

• Create a restore point before removing anything.
• Uninstall apps you installed yourself through Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
• Leave Microsoft system apps and security software alone.

Pros and Cons of These Tweaks

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

These tweaks suit anyone on a 4GB or low-RAM Windows 11 laptop with an SSD who wants a free speed boost. They won’t help much if your PC runs on a slow mechanical drive, because disk speed becomes the bottleneck. The strongest single reason to try them: they target memory pressure directly instead of promising a miracle.

Still on Windows 10 and planning to upgrade? Start with a properly licensed copy. Here is how to get a genuine Windows 10 key safely.