#Time for another CPU?
2 messages in this thread
Jack,
What is the purpose of showing how much ram is "used" and how much is
"available" if the memory that has been used is still useable?
Stephen
RAM is not like gasoline, where you use a portion of it up and it's gone
forever. It's more like a gas tank–the capacity is always there, you just
don't know how much is empty and how much is full. Likewise, a gas gauge always
displays how full or empty your tank is (one side of the needle is full, the
other side is empty). I guess we could have used a gas-gauge icon instead of
two separate values (used/available), but I believe the information is the
same. To carry this ridiculous analogy to an extreme, because of PharLap, when
you run out of gas (free RAM) in your main tank, the very slow auxiliary tank
kicks in. Once that happens, the only way you can refill your main tank is to
pull over to a gas station (exit and restart) and fill 'er up.
Now if this sounds a little simplistic, it's because I'm not really that
technically minded. I still think of memory as little mailboxes along the side
of the road. Any of the tecno-pros who frequent this forum are free to jump in
with a "real" explanation.
– Jack