Computer Performance

What Virtual Memory Does When Your Computer Runs Low on RAM

You can sometimes open more applications than seem able to fit in your computer’s physical memory. At other times, opening one more browser tab makes the whole machine feel sluggish even though nothing has crashed. Virtual memory helps explain both situations. It lets the operating system manage memory without requiring every piece of an application’s active data to remain in physical RAM at the same time. When RAM becomes scarce, the system can reclaim space in several ways, including moving some memory contents to storage.