Preloading File Explorer in Windows 11 Doubles RAM Usage, Offers Minimal Speed Boost
(www.techpowerup.com)
I'll never understand why file explorers are so resource intensive and so slow. they're getting a list of file names, maybe pulling a thumbnail from cache. they don't need to read the metadata of every file in the folder you're looking at, certainly not before displaying a list of files.
macos finder is even worse. i am often pausing for multiple seconds at the "file -> open" dialog
I would like to use a file explorer which tries to be as lightweight as "ls -lF"