What is the potential consequence of running multiple applications with insufficient RAM?

Running multiple applications with insufficient RAM can lead to significant performance issues, most notably causing the computer to freeze or crash. When the available RAM is insufficient to handle the demands of all active applications, the operating system may struggle to allocate resources effectively. This can result in the system becoming unresponsive, as it is unable to manage the required memory for operations gracefully. When RAM is fully utilized, the system may resort to using a swap file on the hard drive, which is much slower and can further hinder performance. Eventually, if the memory demand exceeds what the system can provide, it can lead to crashes, where applications fail unexpectedly or the entire operating system may stop functioning properly. This situation severely disrupts user experience and productivity.