If you’ve been watching the sharp increase in RAM prices with worry, you’re not alone. A perfect storm has been brewing, which has led to memory, which used to be one of the more affordable upgrades you could make to your PC, becoming incredibly expensive. We’ve already seen RAM kits going for the kind of prices you’d usually expect from a high-end graphics card – and this means what was once a reasonably cheap way to upgrade your PC is becoming prohibitively expensive.

However, what if I said there is a way to give your PC a memory boost for free, which could at the very least delay the need to buy more RAM until prices get more sensible?

It might sound too good to be true, or even a scam (no, you can’t download more RAM), but it uses a feature that’s been part of Windows for decades: virtual memory.

Virtual memory allows Windows 11 to use a portion of your PC’s standard storage (where files, folders, and the like are permanently stored until you move or delete them), as RAM, where data is only temporarily stored for quick access.

For those of us who have been using PCs for decades, virtual memory was once quite a handy little ‘hack’ for getting a performance boost. However, as RAM became faster and more affordable, it feels a bit like it’s been forgotten about – but with the increase in RAM prices (and the increase in capacity and speed of Solid State Drives [SSDs]), this old school feature could see a resurgence.

Before I go into how to use virtual memory, it’s worth keeping your expectations in check. It won’t give you the kind of boost installing 32GB of DDR5 would do, for example, but it could help PCs that are struggling with multiple apps open at once, make overall performance of Windows 11 feel faster, and help improve the stability of your PC (especially if it often crashes due to lack of memory). People with 4GB or even 8GB of RAM will see the biggest benefit.

Also, while I call this a ‘hack’, it’s a relatively easy feature to use, and it’s an official, built-in part of Windows 11, so you don’t need to download any additional software. So, read on to find out how to get a free speed boost with virtual memory.

Tools and requirements

Quick steps

Step by step guide

How to use virtual memory in Windows 11: FAQ

How to use virtual memory in Windows 11: Final thoughts

Using virtual memory in Windows 11 can give your PC a legitimate performance boost without having to spend any money. This makes it a fantastic feature for anyone who has a PC that's struggling with a limited amount of RAM, as you can boost your PC's memory capacity for free while the cost of RAM increases.

However, you should bear in mind the pros and cons of using virtual memory, and what it can and can't do. If your PC is seriously struggling, I still recommend upgrading the physical memory of your machine (check out our best RAM guide for advice) as soon as you can afford to. Meanwhile, using virtual memory can give you a useful boost until RAM prices come down again.

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