iStat widget and free memory question

[Learjet035]

My friend got me to DL the iStat widget for my new MBP. Everytime I check it it says I have around 500mb free of my 2Gig.
372 Wired
341 Active
758 Inactive
this is with just Safari open. Is this a normal reading? I'm not really sure what it means. He just got his MBP and he always runs around 1.5G free.
It's probably normal, just wanted to make sure. Thanks

 

[Blubbert]

Well, memory is there to be used. The actual ammount of remaining memory is a combination of inactive, which serves to speed up access to programs that you recently closed, and the actual free memory that is not being used whatsoever.

 

[swiftaw]

My friend got me to DL the iStat widget for my new MBP. Everytime I check it it says I have around 500mb free of my 2Gig.
372 Wired
341 Active
758 Inactive
this is with just Safari open. Is this a normal reading? I'm not really sure what it means. He just got his MBP and he always runs around 1.5G free.
It's probably normal, just wanted to make sure. Thanks

OS X is very good at memory management. Inactive memory is essentially free, or will be free if OS X deems it is needed by an app.

 

[emptyCup]

Everytime I check it it says I have around 500mb free of my 2Gig.

Restart and that number will go way up. As the OS stores things that you are not using, but may use again, it will go down. What you think of as free is Inactive + Free.

 

[Learjet035]

Got it. Thanks for the insight!!!