

When you use your PC, the operating system is continuously moving less important processes (passive ones) to virtual RAM (slower memory), and freeing up actual RAM (faster memory) for important processes (active ones).Īdditionally, your OS also caches less important processes to free up RAM for essential operations. You can press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys in Windows to bring up the Task Manager and move to the “Performance” tab to see all the details regarding RAM. On Mac OS X you can press Command + Shift + Escape to open “Activity Monitor” and see the RAM usage in the “Memory” section. You can also see this happening in real-time, here is what you need to do: RAM AND HD CLEANER MAC MAC OS X Open two tabs in your browser with separate websites on them, like on one and your email service on the other. If you switch between these tabs, there will be no delay or lag.

Now minimize the browser and do anything else in your PC e.g., Open the File Manager and move 2-3 folders to another location. After 10-15 seconds come back and try to switch between the tabs again, you will see the "processing icon" next to your mouse cursor (it’s a blue circle in Windows), and there might be a tiny lag as well. That 1-3 seconds process shows that the operating system is moving operations from the virtual RAM to the physical RAM. Note: If you have an SSD instead of HDD, then the delay should be very small, almost unnoticeable. Overall, the RAM management system in all the latest operating systems is excellent and should not require intervention from third-party tools. Most RAM cleaning tools minimize physical RAM usage. Usually, they shift all the processes to virtual RAM and clear the physical RAM cache to free up RAM.Īs soon as you tell the RAM cleaning tool to free up RAM, it will put extreme pressure on the physical RAM. The operating system will think that the tool requires too much RAM, and to achieve that, it will move all the other processes to virtual RAM.

Once the cleaning tool is sure that all the processes have been moved to virtual RAM, it will stop putting the pressure and show you that it has freed so much RAM.
