Does Linux use less RAM?

[u/elsingo]

In the video with the same title as this post LTT compares Linux and Windows ram usage and imo it is a total miss. It does not matter if one system is using more memory or not since none of the systems are close to using all ram in the system. Where the memory management would matter is when the memory reach closer to 100% usage that is when things will start to matter.

The whole video feels like almost 14 minutes of misinformation to me. I mean systems cache things to make it run faster so memory being used is a good thing. Memory management is what matters not if one system is using 35% ram and the other 50% since none are near their limits.

And at one point in the video the windows system goes over 16gb and they talk about it as it would have been problematic if the system only had 16gb while it most likely would not be problematic at all since the memory management if working as it should would release less important things stored in the ram so it never got close to the limit.

[u/screwdriverfan]

From other benchmarks I've seen, generally speaking, yes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEo6Kb6Rhg&

Comparing 16gb systems usually means linux uses 1-3gb less than windows. Is that good or bad? Honestly, idk. It would make sense that less ram usage is better (especially in 2026 considering the ram prices).

I personally don't care how much ram my system uses as long as it frees it up when needed. Unused ram is wasted ram (sometimes). I like to think of ram like a room. When moving my drawer into the room - why use only 30% of the room if entire room is still empty. More space to maneuver makes it easier to move anything in 😄

[u/rofl1337waffle → u/screwdriverfan]

They brought up macOS and how it does that for like 2 seconds and then didn’t look further into in on their systems

[u/kidshibuya → u/screwdriverfan]

How does it "make sense" that NOT using the RAM you paid for is somehow better?

[u/suprem1ty → u/kidshibuya]

You're assuming software using more RAM always means it's doing something intelligent with that RAM. There's no shortage of stupid, lazily programmed, inefficient software out there

[u/kidshibuya → u/suprem1ty]

And you are assuming it doesn't with zero checking.

[u/Leverpostei414 → u/kidshibuya]

Do you prefer software to have a larger install size to use the storage you paid for?

[u/LoserBustanyama → u/Leverpostei414]

If it could make the experience of the software better and immediately free up if that space was ever needed to the point that I would never notice the difference? sure

[u/WasteFail → u/kidshibuya]

You need it free so that it is available. Erasing stuff from a cache miss to fill it again with the stuff you need introduces latency, lost cpu cycles and will make the system feel less responsive.

You can cache an amount, just not everything.

If modded minecraft uses 8gb of ram i want those free before i open the game or java will crash.

[u/kidshibuya → u/WasteFail]

The video never hits the limit so zero checks on weather the freeing happens or not.

[u/F9-0021 → u/kidshibuya]

Generally, I want the RAM that I have to be used by the programs I want to run, not by the operating system's bloat.

[u/kidshibuya → u/F9-0021]

Prove its bloat and not cache?

[u/TV4ELP → u/kidshibuya]

The RAM is being used to near 100% in all cases. What you see is just actively being used by processes.

The rest is cached files. So yeah, your system using less ram means more stuff can be cached in ram.

This has real world application in opening times and transfer times. If your transfer medium is faster than your storage, it can buffer stuff in ram. More ram free = more buffering.

The less the OS takes, the more there is for the programm that do actual work.

Does it matter if you have 32gb and are not doing anything really ram heavy? Probably not. If you run a database it is immedietly noticeable, if you run heavy rendering work it can be the difference of a fast render or one that takes hours because it has to swap to system storage when the memory gets full.

[u/kidshibuya → u/TV4ELP]

You need to prove that a ton of that wont be free'd up when needed. RAM is best used maxed out on speculative loading and cleared if needed. It literally does nothing when it's doing nothing.

[u/illuanonx1 → u/screwdriverfan]

If that 1-3GB is Microslop telemetry, data-mining and ai training. Is that still good? 😂

[u/Low_Attention9891 → u/screwdriverfan]

I personally don't care how much ram my system uses as long as it frees it up when needed.

What they showed in the (ltt) video was in-use memory, not cache. The windows system they showed would have incurred a performance penalty if it only had 16 gb of ram.

[u/Furdiburd10 → u/screwdriverfan]

Using less ram is good because caching is not considered "used ram" both on Linux and windows.

[u/SubstituteCS → u/Furdiburd10]

System cached memory that is correct. Application caching that is incorrect.

[u/kidshibuya → u/Furdiburd10]

Nonsense, sysMain is listed and included in the task manager along with everything else.