Microsoft said that it’s planning to optimize Windows 11 for systems with 8GB of RAM and above as part of its promise to improve Windows 11 in March 2026. The company said in its latest update that the optimization is part of expanding its focus on operating system upgrades, which include a faster out-of-the-box experience, easier parental controls, and improved voice interactions.

While the official minimum specifications for Windows 11 sit at just 4GB of RAM, most PC builders advise getting at least 16GB if you want to have a smooth experience. In fact, Microsoft has previously recommended 32GB of RAM for Windows 11 for gamers, especially if they want a system that can handle games in the near future. Unfortunately, the RAMpocalypse has forced both users and manufacturers to stick with slower DDR4 memory and lower capacities. Some experts predict that the entry-level PC will disappear by 2028, and we’ve even seen some manufacturers, including Apple, reintroduce 8GB laptops just to hit a specific price point.

The resurgence of 8GB systems will likely deliver a bad experience for users who stick with Windows 11, which is the likely reason why Microsoft is pushing for the optimization of its operating system. If Windows 11 performs poorly on these systems, it could draw users towards macOS or Linux alternatives as they blame the operating system for underperforming on limited hardware. In fact, we’ve already seen this happen before — after Microsoft ended support for Windows 10, MacBooks saw an uptick in sales as users migrated towards macOS instead of going for Windows 11. SteamOS is also encouraging some gamers to ditch Windows, and Valve is working on a general release for the OS, which many say contains less bloat and is a bit snappier than what Microsoft offers.

The RAM shortage crisis, alongside increasing competition, is forcing Microsoft to do better with Windows 11. Hopefully, these optimizations arrive sooner and don’t introduce new bugs, allowing both new and existing users to get more out of their systems.

The Windows blog post also gave an update on what improvements the company has made to Windows 11 so far. This includes a better Windows Search experience, more Taskbar and Start customizations, a more responsive and reliable File Explorer, among others. Many of these changes are still in preview, though, so unless you’re part of the Windows Insider Program, you’ll have to wait a few more weeks to months before you can start enjoying these changes.

Microsoft released Windows NT 4.0 to manufacturing partners on July 31, 1996. Codename Cairo marked an important milestone in the history of Microsoft’s original server OS and would far outlive Microsoft’s original plans as enthusiasts and administrators clung to it, as older readers will be aware. Headlining features of NT 4.0, which made it a winner, include the melding of the intuitive new Windows 95 UI into the fully 32-bit enterprise OS. It was also notable for being the last version of NT to support Alpha, MIPS, or PowerPC CPU architectures.

Historical Windows NT timeline:

• Windows NT Server 3.1 – in 1993, the first version of Windows NT also introduced NTFS
• Windows NT Server 3.5 – in 1994, this update provided integrated support for Winsock and TCP/IP
• Windows NT Server 3.51 - client/server support added in 1995
• Windows NT 4.0 – in 1996, NT got the Windows 95 UI and the familiar My Computer, My Documents, and so on
• Windows 2000 Server – the 5^th NT release started a new naming scheme, introduced Active Directory, plus NTFS 3.0 with file system encryption
• Followed by the more modern Server releases…

After the initial Windows NT 4.0 release, Microsoft followed up with a version for embedded systems and its Terminal Server edition.

The Windows NT line was critical to Microsoft as it led the charge against dominant Unix server software ecosystems. Its first public release was in 1993, with version 3.1, but NT 4.0 coupled the underlying data server and personal workstation tooling with Win95 UI elements such as the Start Menu, Taskbar, Task Manager, and so on. It would also support new components like the cryptography API, DCOM, TAPI 2.0, and some DirectX (v2) features.

Despite all the new technology under the hood and the frills of the latest UI, Microsoft’s Windows NT 4.0 launched with remarkably low minimum requirements. Would-be users were recommended to install it on a PC with a CPU that ran at 33 MHz or better, had 32MB of RAM, SVGA graphics, and a hard disk with 256 MB capacity. This was in the Pentium / Pentium Pro era. NT 4.0 would become “the server for the masses,” boasted Microsoft on the OS’s 20^th anniversary.

Another reason that NT 4.0 was so important is that it formed the foundation for the Windows XP release (2001), leaving the DOS-based 95, 98/SE, and Me versions of the consumer OS behind as archaic hybrids. In the half-decade between the release of NT 4.0 and XP, Microsoft had a lot of work to do, such as implementing Plug and Play, building out gaming tech, adding WDM drivers, and so on. Thankfully, PCs also grew in muscle, specs, and multimedia capabilities to make the larger and more demanding XP a big hit.

Windows XP landed with a core marketing line that it was “Built on NT technology,” which felt uncomfortable to read if you were from the camp that believed ‘NT’ was short for ‘New Technology.’

It is pretty easy to find an old Cairo release online for retro machine tinkering. Those interested in a more casual poke around in NT 4.0 out of interest, curiosity, or nostalgia will find there are some online installs you can play with via a web browser.