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How can this be?


ilia_kr
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The gnome-system-monitor does not include the cached RAM into the stats afaik. I get similar results when comparing gkrellm, gnome-sysmonitor and top. Top displays cached RAM, the others not..

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Linux systems try to use all RAM that you have in order to optimize the system performance. Unlike Windows that only eats up RAM whenever a new application is launched, Linux uses RAM for the any apps and processes that are running and it kind of "prepares" the rest of your RAM for immediate use of the apps and commands and blablablastuff (Windows can also cache, but afaik many people turn this feature completely off or don't even know about its existance). This means that several applications may be running in your cached RAM. If that RAM is needed in any other way (e.g. when you start Firefox), the system will drop the unneeded applications and tasks and donate the now free RAM to the apps that really need the memory. AFAIK, there is a barrier for RAM caching = if an application would use more than a predetermined amount of RAM, then the app will be cached partially in your RAM and partially in your swap. If this ain't correct, anyone please correct me.

 

Short answer: RAM caching sort of boosts your system performance.

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