Can someone break these down for me?

[tigres]

Sorry for such a noob question all, but I have always wondered what these iStat numbers mean for memory.
I have a MBA with 4GB ram
Would someone be kind enough give me the details of the memory portion of this screenie.

Wired
Active
Inactive
Free

Thanks so much!

 

[alust2013]

Wired is system stuff that you can't really tap into, Active is stuff that you have open and is using RAM at the moment, Inactive is stuff you have had open that is still in memory if you want to launch it again, and Free is memory that is not in use.

Your numbers look fine, and it looks like it's a good thing you got the 4GB model.

 

[tigres]

Wired is system stuff that you can't really tap into, Active is stuff that you have open and is using RAM at the moment, Inactive is stuff you have had open that is still in memory if you want to launch it again, and Free is memory that is not in use.

Your numbers look fine, and it looks like it's a good thing you got the 4GB model.

Hey thanks a lot!
I have VMWare, Mail, Safari, Cal, and addy open now.

Why can't I tap into Wired? and why doesn't inactive release to Free?

So my numbers are good, eh?

 

[alust2013]

Hey thanks a lot!
I have VMWare, Mail, Safari, Cal, and addy open now.

Why can't I tap into Wired? and why doesn't inactive release to Free?

So my numbers are good, eh?

That's normal usage. I haven't read a whole lot on wired, but I believe it's just a chunk that the OS sections off for essential functions. Inactive functions as free if more memory is needed, so you're not losing that space. VMWare is eating a good chunk of what you are using, I'll bet, it's a pretty memory-hungry app.

 

[tigres]

That's normal usage. I haven't read a whole lot on wired, but I believe it's just a chunk that the OS sections off for essential functions. Inactive functions as free if more memory is needed, so you're not losing that space. VMWare is eating a good chunk of what you are using, I'll bet, it's a pretty memory-hungry app.

Got it.
Here it is with VMware off.
I thank you much for the edu tonight!

 

[WasteAccountant]

Wired Memory - What is going on

Physical Memory 8 GB

According to Activity Monitor
Free 74.6MB
Wired 6.13GB
Active 1.31GB
Inactive 483.1MB
Used: 7.92GB

Running Lion OS; Safari; Chrome (testing); itunes; Mail and Twitter (app)

 

[-tWv-]

Physical Memory 8 GB

According to Activity Monitor
Free 74.6MB
Wired 6.13GB
Active 1.31GB
Inactive 483.1MB
Used: 7.92GB

Running Lion OS; Safari; Chrome (testing); itunes; Mail and Twitter (app)

Go into activity monitor and click on the column for memory. What is using up the most memory?

I've had problems with safari using up a ton of memory after being open for a long time. Maybe try quitting it and chrome and reopening them and see what happens.