Adding more RAM to a system is not a way to keep it running smoothly. You must have a reasonable amount of RAM in your operating system That meets your needs. Similarly, a gaming computer will need more RAM. While one used for routine tasks, office or academic work can work with a nominal amount of RAM.
Also, having a lot of RAM does not mean there will be some left over. When applications know there is free RAM, they use it. Although almost never used. If your operating system works much slower than it should and you suspect that something is using too much RAM, there is a fairly easy way to verify it.
Likewise, before checking which applications are using more RAM, it is a good idea to take a look at what your system is using. If you recently installed a new application, check your RAM requirements. If you need enough, the greatest use is normal. Now, you should see all the applications you use normally and find out how much RAM they need to use normally.
Applications that use more RAM
Open the task manager and, in the Processes tab, look for the “Memory” column. This column informs the use of RAM.
Also, the numbers shown to you may not seem to be consuming a lot of memory. But it may be because the elements in the "Processes" tab are not ordered by the use of RAM. To sort them, you must click on the title of the Memory column, and the items will be sorted by the use of it.
What is done now?
Now that you've identified which applications are using more memory, you may want to know what options you have about it.
The first thing you have to do is make sure that nothing unusual is executed on your system and consume too much memory. An antivirus or Chrome application is likely to use a lot of RAM, but if there is something you don't recognize, look for what it is. Similarly, if this should not be running, close it and remove it from your system if it does not affect your workflow.
In the same way, you can install a lightweight application to control the use of your memory and every time it is triggered, check the applications that are running.
Secondly, you should check if applications with high RAM usage are using an expected amount of it. Now, check the application requirements and see if the consumption matches. If not, there may be something that makes the application use more memory and you will have to investigate it.
Similarly, if everything looks good, but your system is too slow to use, you can limit the number of applications you are running. When you run an application that consumes many resources. It is not an ideal situation, especially if you perform multiple tasks, but it should help.
Finally, if you want your system to work faster, consider replacing your standard hard drive with a solid state hard drive. The impact they have on the performance of an operating system cannot be overstated. It is also almost as good as adding more RAM, although it is definitely not the same.