Mac RAM usage

04-18-2012, 05:59 PM

Hey all,

I just upgraded my macbook pro (late 2011) model from 4gb to 8gb ram to have wiggle room to run more applications at once. Before the upgrade I ran iTunes, safari, calendar, mail, geektool, nocturne, and istat and after a few hours of regular use would be using about 70% (2.8gb) ram usage. After my upgrade using only the same programs for a few hours I'm right back up at around 70& ram usage (5.6gb or so). Does osx lion just let programs like safari and iTunes utilize ram more because its there?

-Jamesual

agentx · 04-19-2012, 04:38 AM

Yes, dynamic memory management.

benwiggy · 04-19-2012, 05:02 AM

There's no point paying for that memory if you're not going to use it!

But generally: yes, the OS will use as much RAM as is available.

SirDice · 04-19-2012, 06:33 AM

Unused memory is wasted memory.

Most of it will be used as a filesystem cache and application cache. If an application is closed it's memory isn't released immediately. If the application is started again most of it is still in memory and doesn't need to be loaded. This speeds up responsiveness and general usability.

04-18-2012, 05:59 PM	#1
jamesual Guest Posts: n/a	Mac RAM usage Hey all, I just upgraded my macbook pro (late 2011) model from 4gb to 8gb ram to have wiggle room to run more applications at once. Before the upgrade I ran iTunes, safari, calendar, mail, geektool, nocturne, and istat and after a few hours of regular use would be using about 70% (2.8gb) ram usage. After my upgrade using only the same programs for a few hours I'm right back up at around 70& ram usage (5.6gb or so). Does osx lion just let programs like safari and iTunes utilize ram more because its there? -Jamesual

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04-19-2012, 04:38 AM	#2
agentx Hall of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Brighton, UK Posts: 3,807	Yes, dynamic memory management.

04-19-2012, 05:02 AM	#3
benwiggy League Commissioner Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,039	There's no point paying for that memory if you're not going to use it! But generally: yes, the OS will use as much RAM as is available.

04-19-2012, 06:33 AM	#4
SirDice MVP Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,119	Unused memory is wasted memory. Most of it will be used as a filesystem cache and application cache. If an application is closed it's memory isn't released immediately. If the application is started again most of it is still in memory and doesn't need to be loaded. This speeds up responsiveness and general usability.