Why my NEW MacBook Pro is already using 8gb of RAM?

[vmv89]

I just received my MacBook Pro 13" Retina with 16 GB of RAM configuartion.
I have only installed few minor programs like Chrome, Google Drive and etc.
At the time of taking a screenshot (see attached) I did not run any programs.

When I opened iStats Menus to browse around I saw that 8 GB of RAM is already being used. Why?

Does it mean if I would have bought 8 GB of ram, the RAM would be fully used and apps would run slow.

Please explain how everything works and why my number is already so high even though I just purchased the laptop. I know people use 4 GB of RAM and everything runs smooth.

Sorry for such beginner's question; but I would really appreciate if you would explain to me how it works.
Thank you!

 

[Rbk23]

It's not actually. Look at your memory pressure. In reality it's hardly using anything.

 

[vmv89]

It's not actually. Look at your memory pressure. In reality it's hardly using anything.

Do you know any tutorials or explanations on iStats Menu's key performance indicators, what does each thing mean in CPU,MEMORY,SENSORS,DISKS and etc...

I want to know what each thing means and what is considered a normal level for each so I would know when something is wrong and how to fix it.

Or is it something only computer major guys or tech savvy guys could understand?

THANKS!

 

[DeltaMac]

I just received my MacBook Pro 13" Retina with 16 GB of RAM configuartion.
I have only installed few minor programs like Chrome, Google Drive and etc.
...

Try not to think of Chrome as a "minor" program. It actually sucks a lot of resources from your system. Notice in your screen shot that MOST of the services running are Google Chrome related.

Your Mac will try to use whatever memory you want to provide. And, that's a good thing.
Memory Used does not mean that part of your memory is used up (gone). It simply means that some amount of your memory is currently in use. That amount will change dynamically as you use your computer.
What you show is completely normal - nothing to be concerned about.
You have 16 GB of memory available, and most of it should be in use.
More important is to watch the Memory Pressure, which will usually be green. If you see that space fill up, and change to yellow, or even red - then you can legitimately ask questions. I suspect you will never see that happen with any normal use of 16GB

 

[Sheza]

I'd hazard a guess that it uses 8GB because it can. If you had just 8GB, the apps wouldn't run slow, they'd more likely be using up say 4-5GB of the RAM and run fine, but the 16GB of RAM you have allows programs to use more just for that extra performance at times.

 

[vmv89]

Try not to think of Chrome as a "minor" program. It actually sucks a lot of resources from your system. Notice in your screen shot that MOST of the services running are Google Chrome related.

Your Mac will try to use whatever memory you want to provide. And, that's a good thing.
Memory Used does not mean that part of your memory is used up (gone). It simply means that some amount of your memory is currently in use. That amount will change dynamically as you use your computer.
What you show is completely normal - nothing to be concerned about.
You have 16 GB of memory available, and most of it should be in use.
More important is to watch the Memory Pressure, which will usually be green. If you see that space fill up, and change to yellow, or even red - then you can legitimately ask questions. I suspect you will never see that happen with any normal use of 16GB

Thank you!
What is memory pressure? How hard RAM is working?
Soon I will be running Traktor DJ software and Ableton music production and it will definitely require lots of RAM. Hopefully Memory Pressure will not go into red zone .

----------

I'd hazard a guess that it uses 8GB because it can. If you had just 8GB, the apps wouldn't run slow, they'd more likely be using up say 4-5GB of the RAM and run fine, but the 16GB of RAM you have allows programs to use more just for that extra performance at times.

Thanks!
Now I understand it better. More RAM puts less pressure on the machine if I got that correct.

 

[Meister]

The only relevant thing is the pressure graph. It shows how much information goes through the "short term memory"

It works like a traffic light:

• green = everything fine
• yellow = still everying fine but approaching overload
• red = overload --> crash

You dont need to worry that it will go into the yellow or red with the apps you mentioned.
It takes a lot to get there.

Also look here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5890?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

In any case I would avoid using chrome. It can overheat your cpu and uses unusal amounts of ram.

 

[DeltaMac]

Some info from Apple about the Activity Monitor.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5890?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

 

[capathy21]

You have 16GB of ram. You don't ever have to worry about memory. Just enjoy the machine. I promise you won't touch 16GB of ram.

 

[pragmatous]

OSX works completely different than windows. Don't worry about it RAM usage. OSX has a superior memory management.

I just received my MacBook Pro 13" Retina with 16 GB of RAM configuartion.
I have only installed few minor programs like Chrome, Google Drive and etc.
At the time of taking a screenshot (see attached) I did not run any programs.

When I opened iStats Menus to browse around I saw that 8 GB of RAM is already being used. Why?

Does it mean if I would have bought 8 GB of ram, the RAM would be fully used and apps would run slow.

Please explain how everything works and why my number is already so high even though I just purchased the laptop. I know people use 4 GB of RAM and everything runs smooth.

Sorry for such beginner's question; but I would really appreciate if you would explain to me how it works.
Thank you!

 

[thiagoah]

The only relevant thing is the pressure graph. It shows how much information goes through the "short term memory"

It works like a traffic light:

• green = everything fine
• yellow = still everying fine but approaching overload
• red = overload --> crash

You dont need to worry that it will go into the yellow or red with the apps you mentioned.
It takes a lot to get there.

Also look here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5890?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

In any case I would avoid using chrome. It can overheat your cpu and uses unusal amounts of ram.

What other browser would you recommend besides safari that doesn't use unusual amounts of ram like chrome?

I really enjoy using chrome as my default browser but I just purchased a 16GB RAM rMBP and id really like to use chrome without having to worry about major ram usage!

 

[Meister]

What other browser would you recommend besides safari that doesn't use unusual amounts of ram like chrome?

I really enjoy using chrome as my default browser but I just purchased a 16GB RAM rMBP and id really like to use chrome without having to worry about major ram usage!

I use safari. Nothing else.
I dont think chrome can manage to impact 16gb of ram,but I experienced a cpu overheating from it.
Thats much worse!

 

[thiagoah]

I use safari. Nothing else.
I dont think chrome can manage to impact 16gb of ram,but I experienced a cpu overheating from it.
Thats much worse!

Ah I see, good to know! Does your MacBook have 16GB or 8GB RAM? I'd definitely like to avoid a CPU overheating!

 

[Meister]

Ah I see, good to know! Does your MacBook have 16GB or 8GB RAM? I'd definitely like to avoid a CPU overheating!

8gb, but thats irrelevant. The heat started when I tried to upload things via chrome. There have been a lot of bad reports about chrome. Doesnt mean its going to happen to you, but safari is optimized for osx. Chrome seems not to be.

 

[ixxx69]

Ah I see, good to know! Does your MacBook have 16GB or 8GB RAM? I'd definitely like to avoid a CPU overheating!

Pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with how much RAM the computer has. Chrome has had occasional issues with 100% CPU usage and if that goes on long enough, the fans will spin up to max, the CPU will eventually throttle, etc. (and I guess there's always the potential for actual "overheating"). Chrome is constantly being updated, so maybe the bug has been worked out and it's not a problem anymore.

However, I still would recommend Safari.

 

[thiagoah]

Pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with how much RAM the computer has. Chrome has had occasional issues with 100% CPU usage and if that goes on long enough, the fans will spin up to max, the CPU will eventually throttle, etc. (and I guess there's always the potential for actual "overheating"). Chrome is constantly being updated, so maybe the bug has been worked out and it's not a problem anymore.

However, I still would recommend Safari.

Just read a few threads in the google chrome forums, a lot of people are having a problem with a 100% CPU usage which is causing the overheating & so far no major fixes for chrome to avoid this problem that's unfortunate, really like chrome on my windows laptop, never used safari except on my iPhone,

 

[Harry-70]

do refurb MacBooks usually make noises?

sorry for posting on your post.