Too much RAM being used on Idle (Windows 7 Pro)

Hello everyone. This is my very first post on this forum.

So here is the problem. Just recently I have started having the issue of too much RAM being used on both my desktop and laptop. I am by no means a novice when it comes to computers. The desktop is a custom build and the laptop is a $3600 workstation. Both systems have never given me this problem until I installed Microsoft Office 2013. I can data this problem as soon as I started using this version of office. However, new updates on Windows 7 cannot be ruled out as a possible issue so I am posting on the forums to see if anyone else is having similar issues.

Here are screenshots of task manager. As you can see, there is no program using more than 80MB of RAM. I cannot figure out what is occupying all the space. Could it be clipboard? This usually happens after I am done working on assignments (which require quite a bit of copying and pasting graphs in uncompressed TIFF format created in MATLAB).

Side note: After restarting my desktop, the system usually uses around 1.8GB RAM and laptop uses around the same. This issue is on both laptop and desktop.




Relevant desktop specs: Intel i7 2700k, OCed at 4.5GHz (liquid cooled), Intel 330 180GB SSD, Nvidia GTX570, Western Digital Black 1TB for storage, Corsair Vengeance 8GB RAM working at 1600 MHz.

Relevant laptop specs: Intel i7 920XM, Intel 330 180GB SSD, Nvidia Quadro 880M, Western Digital Black 320GB for storage, Corsair Vengeance 8GB RAM, working at 1333 MHz.

PS: Sorry about the 1080p images. Didn't get time to resize these.

Well, this is quite normal since you obviously have a lot of programs running judging from your 100+ processes. A normal system without bloatware will have around 40-50 processes with a peak memory usage of ~1.5Gb. You don't need to worry about the ram usage, Windows will use as much as it needs and will free up memory whenever needed. Unused ram = wasted ram.

well this is not normal at all. Those 100 processes used to take max 1.8gb after system being on for days. This is a new twist.

Open Resource Monitor to get a better look at what is using RAM.
As Youwan said that's a lot of processes and they add up to the same. I notice Chrome is the big user with over 150MB.
Office 2013 is more web-centric so it may be using resources that are hidden in Task Manager, a guess on my part.

I really don't see the issue. You have 8GBs and at least half is being used which is a damn good thing. Using all that memory you paid for? Makes the computer faster not slower. And no, your computer is not idle.

My advice, leave it alone until you have a REAL problem. Goosing hunting for phantom problems is a waste of time.