new iMac running slow

[GGJstudios]

not completely but almost. and my pageouts are not at ZERO anymore...

Not even almost. To find out your available RAM, add your free and inactive memory together. Page outs are cumulative since your last restart. They don't indicate real-time paging. It simply means that you paged out at some point since your last restart, but only a very small amount. It doesn't mean you're paging now.

Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor

 

[photogpab]

Not even almost. To find out your available RAM, add your free and inactive memory together. Page outs are cumulative since your last restart. They don't indicate real-time paging. It simply means that you paged out at some point since your last restart, but only a very small amount. It doesn't mean you're paging now.

Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor

i thought "used" is the RAM it was using, and the reason Page Outs start going up is it ran out of RAM and is using that?

am i completely off here? im new to all this

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Not even almost. To find out your available RAM, add your free and inactive memory together. Page outs are cumulative since your last restart. They don't indicate real-time paging. It simply means that you paged out at some point since your last restart, but only a very small amount. It doesn't mean you're paging now.

Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor

ok so if it means i paged out at some point... it still makes me want to ask... why? i have 12gb RAM, why am i paging out at all with only 2 programs running?

 

[GGJstudios]

i thought "used" is the RAM it was using, and the reason Page Outs start going up is it ran out of RAM and is using that?

am i completely off here? im new to all this

Read the link I provided for an explanation of the terms. Inactive RAM is still available to apps, if needed.

ok so if it means i paged out at some point... it still makes me want to ask... why? i have 12gb RAM, why am i paging out at all with only 2 programs running?

It could have been while opening apps or large files, which may have maxed out RAM for only a few seconds. Your readings indicate you have plenty of RAM not being used.

 

[photogpab]

Read the link I provided for an explanation of the terms. Inactive RAM is still available to apps, if needed.

thanks GGJstudios! much appreciated!

i just wish i understood why i even page out at any point. i will read your link now.

 

[theSeb]

thanks GGJstudios! much appreciated!

i just wish i understood why i even page out at any point. i will read your link now.

When you page out, you're running out of RAM. I am not sure I understand your question.

 

[photogpab]

When you page out, you're running out of RAM. I am not sure I understand your question.

my question was, if i have so much RAM, why am i running out? The machine comes standard with 4GB of RAM correct? I bumped it up to 12GB. That's three times the RAM... so why am i running out at all?

maybe I'm dense and just don't understand RAM very well, but the whole reason I got 12GB of RAM was i wanted to have an abundance of RAM... I'm confused as to why I'm running out at all.

My old iMac only had 2GB of RAM and Im running all the same software on this new Machine but with 6 times the RAM. Just confused as to why its running out at all. If even for a second.

 

[theSeb]

my question was, if i have so much RAM, why am i running out? The machine comes standard with 4GB of RAM correct? I bumped it up to 12GB. That's three times the RAM... so why am i running out at all?

maybe I'm dense and just don't understand RAM very well, but the whole reason I got 12GB of RAM was i wanted to have an abundance of RAM... I'm confused as to why I'm running out at all.

My old iMac only had 2GB of RAM and Im running all the same software on this new Machine but with 6 times the RAM. Just confused as to why its running out at all. If even for a second.

Your computer is not running out of RAM in either of the last two screenshots. You're getting hung up about the "free" amount, which isn't important. Free RAM is POINTLESS RAM since it's not being used. OSX tries to use all of the memory available for caching itself and your applications (Windows 7 does the same thing).

If an app comes along and requests more memory, then OSX will give it back. It's pointless to look at your free memory figure to gauge how much memory you're using. What's important is the ratio of your page outs to your page ins. I do not see any issues in your last two screenshots.

 

[photogpab]

Your computer is not running out of RAM in either of the last two screenshots. You're getting hung up about the "free" amount, which isn't important. Free RAM is POINTLESS RAM since it's not being used. OSX tries to use all of the memory available for caching itself and your applications (Windows 7 does the same thing).

If an app comes along and requests more memory, then OSX will give it back. It's pointless to look at your free memory figure to gauge how much memory you're using. What's important is the ratio of your page outs to your page ins. I do not see any issues in your last two screenshots.

so if i have page outs its not a "bad thing"? i thought page outs meant i ran out of RAM and should get more.

should i upgrade to 16GB?

 

[GGJstudios]

so if i have page outs its not a "bad thing"? i thought page outs meant i ran out of RAM and should get more.

should i upgrade to 16GB?

No, you don't need more RAM. Your page outs are negligible and may only represent a few seconds of paging at a momentary peak in memory demands. There's no need to add more RAM unless you're constantly paging out a significant amount under normal use. Don't get fixated on the fact that you had a tiny amount of paging activity at one point in time. Relax and enjoy your Mac.

 

[macmastersam]

here is a new screen grab:

Image

i want to point out that at this time the only programs I am running are:

iTunes
Mail
Safari

thats it! and the machine is running slower than even my old iMac. everything is getting stuck or taking forever to open or close.

for example, when i first installed photoshop i was shocked at how quick the application opened. i just tried to open it again and it took over a minute to open and it was incredible slow. keeps freezing when i try and use it.

This might just help you out, just a heads up

http://www.westwind.com/reference/os-x/background-processes.html

it shows all the compulsory processes that the OS has to use in order for it to run. and also, over time, RAM does go down on any computer. i usually access the activity monitor when i first boot up my computer and i always notice that the RAM will always go down every time i log onto my computer in the morning. try doing that with your mac everytime you boot it up and see if this is the case.

 

[kpgh554]

seems to me you did same as i did and added too much ram as comp set to run. exact prob i got when tried doubling ram on my mac. it ran ok for while till run a prog that used max ram then got probs.

 

[photogpab]

seems to me you did same as i did and added too much ram as comp set to run. exact prob i got when tried doubling ram on my mac. it ran ok for while till run a prog that used max ram then got probs.

added too much RAM? huh? how can you add too much RAM?

the imac can hold up to 16Gb

 

[GGJstudios]

added too much RAM? huh? how can you add too much RAM?

You can't add too much RAM. That poster doesn't know what they're talking about. It's also their first and only post in the forum. If you install more RAM than your Mac can use, it will simply ignore the excess RAM and not use it.

 

[kpgh554]

You can't add too much RAM. That poster doesn't know what they're talking about. It's also their first and only post in the forum. If you install more RAM than your Mac can use, it will simply ignore the excess RAM and not use it.

if add more ram than comp max recommended it does not ignore it can create kernel panics when using high ram using apps. easiest solution is to revert back to same ram comp came with if prob gone then ram could be faulty

 

[GGJstudios]

if add more ram than comp max recommended it does not ignore it can create kernel panics when using high ram using apps. easiest solution is to revert back to same ram comp came with if prob gone then ram could be faulty

That is false. For example, some earlier Mac models could only use a max of 3.3GB of RAM. You could install 4GB and they would only use 3.3GB, ignoring the excess RAM. It doesn't cause kernel panics, unless you have defective RAM.

 

[derbothaus]

That is false. For example, some earlier Mac models could only use a max of 3.3GB of RAM. You could install 4GB and they would only use 3.3GB, ignoring the excess RAM. It doesn't cause kernel panics, unless you have defective RAM.

I think they meant over the hardware recommended. Like on a 2006 Macbook Pro supporting only 4GB when you can add 6GB to it but if you add 8GB it tends to freak out and slow down (and I can KP a 2006 MBP with 8GB installed). Anyway, the comment has nothing to do with the current discussion.