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    iStat Menus and the Differences in RAM Specs

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by booji, Dec 24, 2009.

  1. booji

    booji Notebook Deity

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    Hi Guys,

    Quick question - I just installed iStat Menus to monitor my RAM usage to see if upgrading to 8GB in my macbook pro would be worth while. I thus wanted to ask what the difference is between "wired", "active", "inactive", and "free" memory allocations within iStat.

    Thanks!
     
    booji, Dec 24, 2009
    #1
  2. cdnalsi

    cdnalsi Food for the funky people

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    Wired memory — This is memory that applications or the system needs immediate access to, so it can’t be cached to disk. It will vary depending on what applications you’re using.
    Active memory — This is memory that is actively being used.
    Inactive memory — This memory is no longer being used and has been cached to disk. It’ll remain in RAM until another application needs the space.
    Free memory — This memory is not being used.

    Straight from the source:

    http://www.islayer.com/help/istatmenus/memory/
     
    cdnalsi, Dec 24, 2009
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