Best Free Memory Optimizer

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Last updated by kendall.a on 25. November 2020 - 11:58

Introduction

Windows has excellent memory management and for the most part you don't need a third party memory management product. I've tried a few free memory managers but none has impressed me enough to allow recommendation. Until now that is.

Most people believe that Memory Optimizers are nothing but "Snake Oil". And, that is mostly true. Most memory optimizers simply fill up memory in windows, and force everything to the page file. However, there a couple that seem to actually work.

 

Rated Products

CleanMem  

Keep memory use in check on the system and in turn keep the system running smoother.

Our Rating: 
5
License: Free (Limited features)
Set it and forget it! Schedule to clean memory at user-specified time intervals. Seems to actually work. Doesn't work like other memory optimizers! It is also available in a portable format for those thumbdrive junkies (which is a determining factor for some).
With all memory optimizers, benefits are hard to measure. You'll forget you have it installed.
Read full review...

FreeRAM XP Pro  

Free and optimize your computer's memory resulting in an increase in system performance and productivity.

Our Rating: 
3
License: Free
Seems to actually work.
Freezes computer for 10-30 seconds while freeing RAM. If you have over 1 GB RAM, effects are minimal.
Read full review...

Special Note

I recently upgraded to Windows 10 (64-bit). To be quite honest with you, I now don't see a need to install a third-party memory optimizer. I'm sure that some might disagree, but I won't be using them nor will I be testing them on my Windows 10 system. My recommendation, if you have Windows 10, is to leave well enough alone. So far, I am quite impressed with all the tools within Windows 10 including disk defragmenter, backup, search, and even memory management. I'm finding myself using less and less third-party tools with Windows 10.

 

Related Products and Links

  • Mz Ram Booster - Please be advised that MZ Ram Booster requires .Net Framework 2.0 or higher. The most recent version 4.1.0.  This program has not been updated since 2010. Reportedly works in all versions of Windows, except Windows 10.
  • RAMBooster - There are actually 2 videos on CNET TV (http://www.cnettv.com/) featuring RAMBooster 2 that speak highly of the program. If you are interested, just follow the link and do a search for RAMBooster Version 2.0. Please note that the most recent version was released in 2005. It appears to be no longer in development.
  • MiniMem is a memory optimization tools that allows you running modern applications on not-so-modern computers that are RAM-limited. You just choose which programs to optimize and how to do so, and Minimem takes care of the rest, running silently in your tray bar. "Initially developed for Firefox only, Minimem now can reduce the memory footprint of any application. It runs in the background and can be set up to optimize as many processes as you'd like, using a very intuitive graphical interface. Unlike other memory optimization tools, it gives you full control over what applications you want to optimize, when and how often, as well as the possibility to only optimize memory when required and relevant." (Minimem appears to be closely related to or similar to CleanMem.)  The most recent version is version 2.1.1 and that version is from 2012.

 

Have Your Say

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Editor

This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Kendall Alexander.

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Comments

Hi, guys:

Have you tried the free Mem Reduct, available at https://www.henrypp.org/ ? It might turn out to be useful for any one of you.

CleanMem WORKS on my Dell Latitude E6400 which is already maxed out at 8GB RAM (that is the chipset limit - no way to add more) and running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit.

If you are able to add more physical RAM, that is always going to be a lot better than using something like this. Memory is not that expensive.

But if you're up against the physical memory limit already, this can definitely help make the most of what you have.

It DOES a better job of squeezing out the optimal usage of memory than Windows does.

It can also help make up for poorly programmed apps that are memory leakers (keep increasing use of but don't release memory back to Windows).

There is no magic to this app and it was programmed as well as any similar utility could possibly be. It simply makes use of the existing Windows API to do memory housekeeping that Windows often fails to do, which is clearing out memory from apps no longer needed in memory. It does a FANTASTIC job of that. It's very visible when you see the monitor saying 75% or more of RAM is used and you clear it. It can be set to do that automatically so you never see usage get that high.

If you have a RAM-limited situation (where you cannot use the optimal amount of RAM and cannot add more), PLEASE install CleanMem. I have used it for years and my laptop does not bog down to a crawl anymore which used to happen frequently without it.

Anyone who says this doesn't work has not used it, period. It absolutely DOES work, but you have to be realistic and use it properly. I would advise not clearing RAM until it gets over 50% usage at least and you also do not want to run a ton of apps and browser windows regardless. Remember, it clears memory from UNUSED processes, not used ones. Even Windows 10 doesn't do that very well. Windows 10 does other things very well like spying on you and forcing updates to reboot your computer so you lose your work.

CleanMem - very useful. I waited too long to install this since reading the "Special Note" near the top of this article... about windows 7 optimizing memory well, and third party Ram managers not being needed. (not true)

I'm happy to report that my Ram use after installing CleanMem on my Win7 64bit PC has shown a marked improvement. Now that I have 8 gb of ram it's not the issue it used to be. But it's always irritated me that certain programs use so much ram and don't seem to release it. Before installing CleanMem my free ram would remain in the 3-4 gb range. Now it's staying in the 5+ gb range even with many apps running. Apparently CleanMem DOES make a difference. I'm not going to tell you it's needed. You'll need to decide that. But it does work if you're looking to free up Ram use.

Does anyone tried this clean memory app?
http://www.koshyjohn.com
Using it for about a year and im satisfied with it, so i would be glad for some "professional opinion" about this software.

The site has a green WOT rating and he has 3 software programs that all appear to be free. In fact, at least 2 of them, for me, appear interesting. Both the memory cleaner and desktop search program look to be possibly worth testing. Unfortunately, I don't have the time right now to test either of them. Maybe, someone else can or will?!

i use giant matrix Memory washer... its nice
do check it out

This product does appear to be free and the site is green (WOT). However, if you check out their FAQ, it states that for support you need to go to their forum. When you go to their forum, you will find 0 posts. Yes, there are absolutely no posts in their forum. I assume that this means that this is a brand new company and we know very little about them. And, I doubt you're going to get much support from a blank forum. So, just beware if you decide to download this software. I would strongly suggest running this installer through Jotti or Virustotal.

@ kendall.a

what you say is right but i am using this product for a long time... i have old pc 512 ram and i do programming,and Photoshop so i need to clean ram constantly....

what you say about forum is fine... how care weather they give support or not. you can never ask much from freeware..the main thing is they are giving it for free..

worst come to worst scenario i terminate the program if it gives me trouble or simply uninstall it and find better alternative...

2 thing i want from freeware is that:
1) They should be completly FREE...no strings attached
2) should not contain any virus or malicious code

this program is really great and haven't given me any trouble but i agree that there maybe better alternatives

i just felt like sharing with others what i use and i wasn't in your list

please don't feel bad and forgive me if i am offending
parjanya