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Does anyone know of an app like AppTamer http://www.stclairsoft.com/AppTamer/index.html that frees RAM usage and not just CPU?

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Sounds strange, but Command-Q works best. – René Jul 26 '11 at 5:56

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There's an app in the Mac App Store called iCleanMemory which claims to do this.

Alternatively you can fire up terminal and type "purge" although this may only be available if you have the developer tools installed.

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You can't free up any more RAM than is free-able natively by the OS -- something the OS will do automatically on its own when it needs it. If more memory is really necessary, do just that: get more memory. :-) – Kerri Shotts Jul 26 '11 at 4:19
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Hate to say this, but RAM isn't something that can just magically be erased without an impact on the system. There are four kinds of ram:

Free - is free to use and optimal for use when applications are opened

Inactive - is memory that is no longer used that is deleted when needed. Inactive memory allows for past tasks to occur faster when being repeated (for example launching an application that was previously used but then quit). This RAM basically acts as FREE RAM and the system deletes it and uses it when needed, but deleting it without needing to will actually hinder ur macs performance since these caches will be deleted.

Active & Wired - is used by currently running applications and in NO CASE can it be deleted without a system impact.

What i'm getting at, is that there is no reason to have to clear ram, that which can be cleared is cleared automatically when needed and that which can't be cleared just... can't be cleared :P

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Totally agree. I hated this stuff when I was on Windows -- all it did was page everything out -- which was fine if you wanted your rad-3D game to start up just bit faster without having to page things out as it loaded, but it only slowed everything else down like all-get-out. Having to wait for Explorer to draw the desktop background line-by-line was ridiculous, and yet I never saw the end of those kinds of apps being paraded around. RAM is RAM. The OS is generally quite good at managing it - more likely, better than us humans. Leave it to manage it, and life is better, IMO. ;-) – Kerri Shotts Jul 26 '11 at 4:19

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