Memory bottleneck definition
A memory bottleneck is like a traffic jam in a computer. It happens when the system's processor is ready to perform more operations than the memory can handle at a given time.
See also: network bottleneck, random access memory
How a memory bottleneck happens:
Mismatch in speeds. Modern CPUs are high-speed and can handle a lot of calculations per second. It has to wait if the memory is not equally fast in providing data to the CPU.
High demand for memory. The need for memory increases when running apps like video editing, gaming, or large-scale data analysis.
How to stop memory bottlenecks:
- Upgrade and configure your RAM. Upgrade to a larger capacity RAM and use dual or quad-channel memory configurations.
- Upgrade the CPU. Your current CPU might be too slow to handle the available memory bandwidth efficiently.
- Optimize your system and adjust settings. Update your software, clean up files, defragment the hard drive, change the page file size (virtual memory), and use efficient software.
