How much memory does my Macbook Pro really have?

[SebastianBerlin]

Hi,

I have bought a Macbook Pro a while ago. I ordered one with 4 GB of Ram. Now I am asking, if there is really 4 GB working or is there something wrong.
If I use "About this Mac" -> "More info..." I get:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,3
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2,66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1,07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP53.00AC.B03


But in the "Activity Monitor" and in "top" I get lines such as:
Free: 73,2 MB
Wired: 1,18 GB
Active: 1,45 GB
Inactive 652,8 MB
Used 3,89 GB

PhysMem: 1851M wired, 1492M active, 663M inactive, 4006M used, 92M free.
VM


Sorry, but I don't really understand the data displayed there. Do I really have 4 GB? Because the "Wired" and "Free" parts make me suspicious.

Any help is much appreciated. Sorry if thats a REALLY stupid question. Sorry if the question already occured in this forum (I haven't found anything like this...)

Thanks
Sebastian

 

[TZRaceR6]

Yes, you have 4gigs, but its being allocated and used for different things.

Download iFreeMem. Use it to optimize your memory. It is a very simple program and easy to use. You'll see what I mean. It will pretty much mirror what activity monitor is showing you as well.

 

[MetalPhreak]

Free: 73,2 MB
Used 3,89 GB

3.89GB + 73.2MB = about 4GB

Some memory is allocated to the graphics card if you have the 9400m/320GT etc

Wired/Active/Inactive just show the distribution of how the "Used" memory is being, well, used. Data from apps that are closed are cached in case you open them again, but if another running app needs it, the cached data is dropped.

 

[mrsir2009]

Yes, you do have 4GB of RAM. But its just showing they're being used for different things. Such as apps, the OS, etc...

 

[Stokes]

And, don't be concerned if it's seems like it's using too much memory for a process.

It's not like your grandma saving apple cores just in case she needs them later because it's in the middle of the 1930s depression. Your computer likes to use it's resources!

 

[SebastianBerlin]

Thank you very much. It's now more clear for me.