Resolved MBP and RAM Usage..?

[wambo]

Why does my 15" MBP i5 use so much RAM? I don't understand how most of the time it sits on 3-4gb used RAM. Luckily I upgraded from 4gb to 8gb today as it was terrible before the upgrade!!

Can anyone shed light upon why MBP uses tonnes of RAM.

Cheers guys

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Have you taken a look at Activity Monitor yet?

Example (just use the REAL MEMORY column):

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Have a look at Activity Monitor (Applications / Utilities /) and select All Processes and sort by CPU to see what the culprit may be.
Also check the "System Memory" tab to see what your "Page ins:", "Page outs:" and "Swap used:" are.

image below uses sorting by CPU as an example

Further reading:

Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor
Making The Most of Activity Monitor
What Is Activity Monitor (or How to Take Your Mac's Pulse)​

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[wambo]

Yea I've looked at that but what I'm asking is why it uses so much?! it makes no sense.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Yea I've looked at that but what I'm asking is why it uses so much?! it makes no sense.

The answer lies with Activity Monitor, and I have a hunch, that one or several processes are listed at the top, when sorted by Real Mem, which are the ****ing answer.

Btw, the slowness before the RAM upgrade can be explained due to the RAM swapping its content to the HDD, which slows the Mac down for a bit.


EXAMPLE OF RAM USAGE:

 

[wambo]

Look I'm not stupid I'm just new to mac lol. My windows PC can run lots of applications but not use much RAM. I run iMovie and Firefox and I can almost be using 4gb RAM. Its pretty crappy!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Look I'm not stupid I'm just new to mac lol. My windows PC can run lots of applications but not use much RAM. I run iMovie and Firefox and I can almost be using 4gb RAM. Its pretty crappy!

Why didn't you say so? Does that mean, that iMovie and Firefox together take up 4GB of RAM? How many tabs do you have open in Firefox?

Sorry for the stupid questions though, I think there is a general, please the masses, answer somewhere, but I am not the one to give those to you.

I am here to help people solve their computational problems, but as I am here, and you are there, I, and others rely on your corporation. Since that is not the case, I gladly resign from this case.
Let someone else be the kinder one, as I only have those censored words in my head right now.

PS: Firefox is known to be a memory hog.

"How to maximise your MacRumors troubleshooting experience" created by mad jew in 2006​

BTW, if you want to learn more about Mac OS X:

Helpful Information for Any Mac User by GGJstudios​

 

[wambo]

LOL you have a serious problem, your over complicating a very simple question. WHY DOES MAC OSX LION USE SO MUCH RAM????

That is all.

 

[gorskiegangsta]

LOL you have a serious problem, your over complicating a very simple question. WHY DOES MAC OSX LION USE SO MUCH RAM????

That is all.

IT DEPENDS ON WHICH PROGRAMS ARE RUNNING!!!!

Some programs will use more RAM than others. iMovie might use a fair amount of RAM depending on the size of your video project; as might Firefox, if you have a dozen or so tabs open.

So, either we can continue this pointless speculation, or you can follow simsaladimbamba's advice by going to Activity Monitor (Windows equivalent of Task Manager) and sort all processes by "Real Mem", and figure out for yourself WHAT EXACTLY is taking up most of your RAM

 

[Heavertron]

LOL you have a serious problem, your over complicating a very simple question. WHY DOES MAC OSX LION USE SO MUCH RAM????

That is all.

It's a UNIX / BSD thing. 'Allocated' memory is listed as active ram. It's not necessarily in use, but has been 'assigned' to a process.

Actually better than having it sitting idle, just to show up as 'free' in activity monitor. I've oversimplified for ease of understanding. Short answer, if you have low page outs, don't worry.

 

[omar4578]

LOL you have a serious problem, your over complicating a very simple question. WHY DOES MAC OSX LION USE SO MUCH RAM????

That is all.

"because it just does" is that iSimple enough for you?

 

[wambo]

OH MY GOD! I know how to use activity monitor. FOR EXAMPLE I had Firefox open and mail. But 4.3gb of ram was in use. and there wasn't an awful lot in the activity monitor!

It's amazing that doing so little can use so much RAM. Like I said, Windows doesn't do that. Why does Mac.

Unless you have an answer backed up with technical knowledge not just flaming and telling me to look at the activity monitor please don't reply.

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It's a UNIX / BSD thing. 'Allocated' memory is listed as active ram. It's not necessarily in use, but has been 'assigned' to a process.

Actually better than having it sitting idle, just to show up as 'free' in activity monitor. I've oversimplified for ease of understanding. Short answer, if you have low page outs, don't worry.

Thank you!! You've actually explained it not just been an arse like everyone else.

 

[Mojo1]

Hmmmm...

Wambo, the only "arse" that is posting to this thread appears to be you...

I think that people have been quite courteous considering you come across as wanting to incite a Mac vs. Windows argument. Try to keep in mind that you are posting to a Mac forum, not a Windows forum...

if you are truly unhappy with memory management on your Mac there is a simple fix: go back to Windows. Problem solved.

 

[wambo]

I was simply stating a fact! Not inciting a Windows vs Mac war. And if you want to argue that fact with me feel free.

Sorry that no one except one person was able to give me an answer without seeming to want to make me look thick.

 

[dusk007]

That is just how it is in many forums. A great deal many people don't even read the first post properly or try to understand what the intended meaning was. They just assume based on a the headline and a few words and their own experience with numberless similar topics what you want and give the same answer they have given hundreds of times already.
If you ask for technical knowledge you expect to much of many too.

Windows XP did the same thing but it didn't report "inactive memory" as being used it just reported it under free memory which it effectively should be.
But it is true that many application in and on OSX need more RAM than on Windows and everywhere more than in the past. There are probably many reasons for this. There are representations of data that are quicker and more efficient to access but they need more space if RAM is plentiful it is reasonable to use them instead of Lists and stuff. In many cases it probably is also a lack of optimization and developers just don't care enough because they expect there to be enough RAM.
The most obvious example on the top of my head is µtorrent. On Windows that used to be a 5MB RAM use little app that could do almost anything. It still is not really any better today than it was back then. Now in OSX it needs 10 times as much RAM for absolutely no apparent benefit. It was back then and is now limited by the Internet bandwidth and it is before and after no better at using most of it.
People here will tell you: "It is a waste not to use the RAM you have." But that is really only part of the picture as it is also a waste if you use RAM inefficiently and deprive apps of RAM that might make better use of it.
Windows 8 implements something new here with adding some sort of low priority RAM. Apps can still use everything there is but Apps that need it more can take what they need.
In RAM use OSX is definitely no model student as the Lion with 2 GB ram bugs show. Microsoft is doing much better here.

 

[mape2k]

That is just how it is in many forums. A great deal many people don't even read the first post properly or try to understand what the intended meaning was. They just assume based on a the headline and a few words and their own experience with numberless similar topics what you want and give the same answer they have given hundreds of times already.
If you ask for technical knowledge you expect to much of many too.

Windows XP did the same thing but it didn't report "inactive memory" as being used it just reported it under free memory which it effectively should be.
But it is true that many application in and on OSX need more RAM than on Windows and everywhere more than in the past. There are probably many reasons for this. There are representations of data that are quicker and more efficient to access but they need more space if RAM is plentiful it is reasonable to use them instead of Lists and stuff. In many cases it probably is also a lack of optimization and developers just don't care enough because they expect there to be enough RAM.
The most obvious example on the top of my head is µtorrent. On Windows that used to be a 5MB RAM use little app that could do almost anything. It still is not really any better today than it was back then. Now in OSX it needs 10 times as much RAM for absolutely no apparent benefit. It was back then and is now limited by the Internet bandwidth and it is before and after no better at using most of it.
People here will tell you: "It is a waste not to use the RAM you have." But that is really only part of the picture as it is also a waste if you use RAM inefficiently and deprive apps of RAM that might make better use of it.
Windows 8 implements something new here with adding some sort of low priority RAM. Apps can still use everything there is but Apps that need it more can take what they need.
In RAM use OSX is definitely no model student as the Lion with 2 GB ram bugs show. Microsoft is doing much better here.

This + it is hard to compare UNIX and Windows based systems. The RAM usage is very different (some say UNIX manages better, but that is another topic...). You might also want to consider that a lot of apps for MAC already use 64-bit architecture and thus, use more RAM allocation. On Windows, quite a lot of programs still run in 32-bit mode.

 

[heisenberg123]

LOL you have a serious problem, your over complicating a very simple question. WHY DOES MAC OSX LION USE SO MUCH RAM????

That is all.

Took you 3 posts to say you on lion, see know why all the details are important to get you a proper answer? Keep telling us more and you will get a answer that's more accurate

 

[snaky69]

I was simply stating a fact! Not inciting a Windows vs Mac war. And if you want to argue that fact with me feel free.

Sorry that no one except one person was able to give me an answer without seeming to want to make me look thick.

I don't know about you, but all posts I've read here answer your question(or lack thereof) in full.

You see, you come on here with a 2-line long post that is essentially whining, then get pissed off when people try to answer you with the breadcrumbs of information you left.

What are you using? What is iMovie doing? How many tabs are open in firefox? Are you using flash based applets? What version of OS X are you running? What year MBP?

With that said, memory actually being used by the system in OS X is labeled as Active Memory and Wired Memory, the rest of it is essentially free and is labeled Free and Inactive, respectively.

Firefox is a known memory hog, with plenty of memory leaks, if left on for long periods of time, it can and will chew up through all of your RAM. Learn to quit it once in a while.

That is all.

 

[Darby67]

Wambo, don't listen to those pestering you to supply all useful information. As an IT Consultant, as listed in your profile, you rightly know better than to supply any relevant information in regards to what you are doing or what OS you are on.

All answers are best given when only vague information is supplied, this ensures crap-in-crap-out problem solving and guarantees all parties are equally frustrated. Bravo!

 

[snaky69]

Wambo, don't listen to those pestering you to supply all useful information. As an IT Consultant, as listed in your profile, you rightly know better than to supply any relevant information in regards to what you are doing or what OS you are on.

All answers are best given when only vague information is supplied, this ensures crap-in-crap-out problem solving and guarantees all parties are equally frustrated. Bravo!

I lol'ed.

 

[wambo]

I posted this thread with the intention of giving no overly detailed information. A simple question of Why does my MBP use so much RAM? Being new to Mac I thought there might be a simple, generic answer for that question. I got annoyed with people being arsey with me.

Thank you to everyone who has actually given me a brief explanation as to what it might be. I honestly do appreciate it.