I can’t find any threads discussing this, so maybe it’s just my PC. But with the UE5 update the game is 1/2 the size, but takes 2-3x as long to load. Is that just my computer somehow? It’s 6 years old, and can only handle the Enhanced version of the game on Low graphics settings without some stutter (I’ll be buying a new computer sometime this year). I’d appreciate anyone who can make this make sense to me, bearing in mind I’m a dinosaur that knows nothing about computers.
32 GB main memory works for newer computers. That explains some of the load.
Recommended specs for the Enhanced version still specify 16 GB RAM, so unlikely they would make it so that 32 is needed. More likely the bottleneck is an older processor or GPU.
Specs as announced officially by Funcom -
MINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64bit
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5-10400F
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070Ti or Radeon 5700 XT, minimum 8 GB Video RAM
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: SSD required
RECOMMENDED:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 11 64bit
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5600X or Intel Core i7-11700F
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6700
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: SSD required
My pc is pretty beefy and it loads pretty fast…My guess its your setup. Sorry.
My nephew helped me add Ram (well, he did it for me), so I have 32gb. But I have Windows 10 which can’t even be updated anymore. I have CE on my SSD. The rest of those requirements you listed are Greek to me. But it’s good to know it is my PC, which I’ll be replacing at some point. Thank you, all, for the information.
Windows 10 should be OK according to the requirements (maybe not ideal, but matches the minimum requirement for that aspect). Get your nephew to look at the Processor and Graphics requirements - he should be able to tell you where you stand. But yeah, the overall conclusion is that it’s likely to be the machine - as a simplified explanation: the requirements have gone up since the upgrade to Enhanced, so despite the smaller size that is likely the reason for longer loading times.
Knowing that you plan to upgrade, you can look forward to the future, any reasonably new machine is likely to exceed the recommended requirements, let alone the minimums - so not only will the loading times improve, but you’ll also get to see the graphics on much higher settings 
Windows 10 is still broken, so Windows 11 has the solution. You are right there. I can say they both are being worked on, but windows 11 is more stable.