Most Chromebooks have the RAM chip soldered to the motherboard, which means you can’t add more memory to your device. Chromebooks generally come equipped with less RAM than regular Windows or macOS computers. But ChromeOS doesn’t actually need that much RAM because it uses memory more efficiently.In order to get extra RAM on your Chromebook, we use zram (or compcache), which basically turns a part of your internal storage into RAM. This extra zram compensates for your device’s lack of memory, and helps the system handle multiple background processes.
How much RAM does my Chromebook have?
You probably already know the amount of RAM your Chromebook had when you bought it. But if you don’t remember, it’s easy to find using a simple free extension called Cog System Info Viewer. Once you install and run the extension, it will show you the amount of RAM installed on your Chromebook.
Why does Chrome OS use so much RAM?
The result is a much faster, more efficient use of RAM. Because the compression happens on the fly in zRAM and RAM is generally quicker than swap, Chrome OS can do a lot more with less. Google also makes the most of RAM in Chrome OS by using something called a “double-wall” low memory state.
Why do low-end Chromebooks have low RAM?
The low-end Chromebooks lack the hardware to be able to support such processing. Thankfully, with a small hack that we will show you today, you can give your Chromebook extra RAM to power you through all those extra tabs.
Do Android apps use more memory on a Chromebook?
There aren’t many hard numbers in the article, but it’s true that if you use Android apps on a Chromebook, you’ll be using memory even when you aren’t running those apps. I verified that by doing several memory tests on my Chromebook: When I removed the Google Play Store option, less memory was used upon the next bootup.
