ram Problem?

[JamesGorman]

As i type this i currently have safari(2 Tabs), Msn messenger, and itunes open, and i only have 20mb free ram. My ram stats are as follows.
wired=228mb,
active=827,
inactive=719
used= 1.74gb.
page ins = 1000+ mb
Page outs = 559mb
Vm = 37GB

My problem is I dont think that with these few programs open it should be using pretty much the full 2 gigs of memory. Is there some kind of problem with this data? Before when id have these programs open id have almsot a gig of free memory and now its almost nothing.

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

Have you restarted?

That'll free up all the RAM that programs didn't properly give back. Also, I believe "inactive" RAM can be considered "free," as it will become active when needed again.

As programs run, they'll slowly use more RAM, and it usually won't free up until the program is closed/the computer is rebooted.

 

[JamesGorman]

I restarted and now I have 1.42GB of ram thanks for the tip

 

[Chase R]

Inactive RAM is the same as Free RAM... It's there if you need it but will be kicked out when needed. I love OS X