Is it worth buying a laptop with 8 GB RAM in 2026?

At one time, adding an extra RAM stick was a simple and inexpensive way to upgrade an old laptop. Today, RAM shortages (thanks to rapid advances in AI) have driven memory prices up 500% in just 12 months. In fact, memory is such a hot commodity now that 128GB of DDR5 RAM costs over $3,300. Good luck with that RAM update, right? So if you’re buying a new laptop, shortages can also affect how much you’ll be forced to pay, as robust specs will cost an arm and a leg. So something like an ACER Aspire with 8GB of RAM (priced at $429) falls within a realistic budget for most price-conscious users.

But is it worth buying a laptop with 8GB RAM in 2026? 8GB is more than enough to get you through the RAM crisis if you mainly watch Netflix and do light browsing. Don’t expect much in the way of speed, as there will likely be plenty of slowdowns along the way. On the other hand, if you need the laptop for work, the 8GB RAM experience can be described as a descent through the nine circles of hell, but more boring. In the modern era, even basic work tasks will require you to open lots of tabs, run spreadsheets, and keep apps like Teams or Slack open at the same time – all of which are notorious memory hogs. So for work, 16GB is the minimum if you want to stay productive instead of languishing in front of a screen because Slack is unresponsive or that important spreadsheet is taking too long to load.

With 8GB of RAM, you’re pretty much in the clear when it comes to Microsoft’s latest operating system. The bare minimum for Windows 11 is 4GB, so having double that requirement gives you some wiggle room and makes your computer more usable. Still, you’ll have trouble accomplishing most tasks, for one reason: the operating system loads a lot of memory even when it’s idle.

As soon as you press the power button, Windows loads everything from security tools to a variety of system services. How much exactly? On the lower end, it’s around 3GB, but it can quickly grow to 5GB. That only leaves you with a few gigabytes to play with, so to speak. Web browsing alone can consume more than 4 GB of memory, while apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams can easily eat up 2 GB or more.

To put things in perspective, open a tab with Google Docs in Chrome and it’s 300 MB. A video? Up to 530 MB. Don’t be surprised if a single tab from a random text website takes up 80 MB of your already limited RAM pool. Naturally, this doesn’t mean you can’t use an 8GB Windows 11 machine to work, but you’ll have to accept that your overall work experience will be anything but smooth.

Fortunately, if you know the limitations of your device, you might be able to fare a little better, at least until you have enough money for a real upgrade. So how to speed up PC without adding more RAM? To start, remember to restart it regularly. This automatically stops background processes and clears all data from RAM. How often? Every time you notice that the laptop has become slow. Switch between tabs, for example, and if the computer starts to choke, you may need to restart.

Additionally, the number one rule for running an underpowered PC is to close all unused applications. If you’re not in constant communication with your teammates, it doesn’t hurt to close Slack or Teams. Choose the apps you need to keep moving forward. For a longer-term solution, take stock of unnecessary startup applications that launch as soon as you turn on the PC. Game launchers, helper apps, and update utilities have no reason to run all the time, and turning them off will free up much-needed RAM.

Memory prices show no signs of changing trajectory, but that doesn’t mean you can’t skimp on a few extra GB. When purchasing a laptop, don’t make the mistake of choosing a model with soldered RAM, as this will prevent you from performing updates. A pair of 8GB RAM sticks can cost over $200 (and likely more in the coming months), but that’s a relatively small price to pay for smoother performance.