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User profile for user: Jack Pattishall, Jr
Jack Pattishall, Jr Author
User level: Level 2
310 points

VM size: 50.50GB

Anyone find they're machine uses a TON of virtual memory?

I currently have Safari open (this window), Activity Monitor, Skype, Photoshop (no documents open), iTunes, and Aperture.

In Activity Monitor, it says Aperture is using 2.14GB of Virtual Memory and Photoshop is using 1.54. There are other system processes that seem to just gobble up a ton of VM (500MB average)!!

What is going on here? Is OSX just saying, "hey, you have a ton of space available, so I'm just gonna use it..." ??

I became curious after Aperture started running a bit sluggish.

System Memory is: Free: 5.08GB, Wired: 911.43MB, Active: 4.90MB, Inactive: 1.11GB, Used: 6.90GB

VM Size: 50.50GB, Page ins: 1.84GB, Page outs: 0 bytes, Swap used: 0 bytes.

12 PB G4 1.33 512MB & 2.5 G5 w/ 20 DVI ACD, Mac OS X (10.4.1)

Posted on Aug 15, 2009 10:28 PM

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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,855 points

Posted on Aug 15, 2009 10:47 PM

Your machine is not using VM, it's merely designated by your running software. VM - virtual memory - is space used on a hard drive. It is not RAM or physical memory.

When a process runs, it reserves an amount of free hard drive space to manage memory. When shared memory is in high demand by other processes, the current process will write the contents of the shared memory to disk and free up more physical RAM for the processes that are demanding it. This used space is not displayed as being occupied by a file, and therefore does not change the amount of free space shown by the Finder.


To more fully understand Activity Monitor see OS X Process Management- Guide to Activity Monitor - MacFixIt.

You obviously have no memory problem.
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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,855 points

Aug 15, 2009 10:47 PM in response to Jack Pattishall, Jr

Your machine is not using VM, it's merely designated by your running software. VM - virtual memory - is space used on a hard drive. It is not RAM or physical memory.

When a process runs, it reserves an amount of free hard drive space to manage memory. When shared memory is in high demand by other processes, the current process will write the contents of the shared memory to disk and free up more physical RAM for the processes that are demanding it. This used space is not displayed as being occupied by a file, and therefore does not change the amount of free space shown by the Finder.


To more fully understand Activity Monitor see OS X Process Management- Guide to Activity Monitor - MacFixIt.

You obviously have no memory problem.
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VM size: 50.50GB

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