Q: high memory usage

My PC has 4gb of memory, when I ran the Activity Monitor it stated memory used was 3.98gb. My PC takes awhile booting up nowadays although less than 3 years old. I would like to run some maintenance routines to see if this resolves the problems as sometimes slow responding at times. Also, thinking about subscribing to a good Apple Mac magazine to learn more in keeping it in good shape - any recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.5), Using Word

Posted on Apr 17, 2015 5:01 AM

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Q: high memory usage

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by Rudegar,

Rudegar Apr 17, 2015 7:41 AM in response to SSlater
Level 7 (28,966 points)

Apple TV

Apr 17, 2015 7:41 AM in response to SSlater

I have the same model and it got pretty slow from cold boot when I got mavericks so I upgraded the memory to 16 and now it's nice
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by Mike Sombrio,Helpful

Mike Sombrio Apr 17, 2015 1:22 PM in response to SSlater
Level 6 (17,283 points)

Apple Watch

Apr 17, 2015 1:22 PM in response to SSlater

Is your information correct? You're running 10.7.5? As far as running maintenance routines, don't. Let OS X do it's own maintenance. Check out The Safe Mac
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by Allan Jones,Helpful

Allan Jones Apr 17, 2015 1:28 PM in response to SSlater
Level 8 (35,316 points)

iPad

Apr 17, 2015 1:28 PM in response to SSlater

The way Mac OSX handles RAM changed starting with OS 10.9. The new routines grab big chunks of available RAM but it is reserved for faser access. So what you see is actually a performance improvement. Even upgrading does nto change that. Here is the current report for my iMac with 12GB RAM:

That is a current view and the computer is plenty fast.

So you need not focus on "Memory Used" with 10.9 and higher. The new metrics for RAM stress are "Swaps Used" and "Memory Pressure." If you computer is slow, changes are these is something else at play like unneeded third-party utilities.

Here is an Apple article that addresses the subject:

How to use Activity Monitor - Apple Support
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by SSlater,

SSlater Apr 17, 2015 1:27 PM in response to Mike Sombrio
Level 1 (0 points)

Apr 17, 2015 1:27 PM in response to Mike Sombrio

Thank you for your reply, I have read the Safe Mac and printed it off, it was interesting and very informative. I will work through, thank you .
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by SSlater,

SSlater Apr 17, 2015 1:30 PM in response to Allan Jones
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Apr 17, 2015 1:30 PM in response to Allan Jones

Thank you, you have helped me understand the memory better.
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Q: high memory usage

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by Rudegar,

by Mike Sombrio,★Helpful

by Allan Jones,★Helpful

by SSlater,

by SSlater,

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by Mike Sombrio,Helpful

by Allan Jones,Helpful