Does graphics RAM run out?

I have a 15-inch MacBook Pro that slows almost to a standstill when I have several apps open. I think that it may be caused by a low memory condition of some sort. Activity Monitor shows that RAM use and disk use are quite low, so that seems to suggest that it’s the graphics memory. Is there any easy way to check how much graphics memory each app is using? Ashley Faith The graphics card uses its RAM as a buffer to hold each frame before sending it to the monitor, and as ‘scratch’ memory for 3D games calculations, but it doesn’t get full in the same way that system memory does.

The best way to find if your slowdowns are caused by a program is by a good old fashioned ‘process of elimination’. When your MacBook next slows down, make a note of which applications and documents you have open and shut them down one at a time to see if it makes any difference.

It could also be that you have a failing hard disk and apps are waiting for a file to be read from or written to. This won’t show up in Activity Monitor because, as far as the OS is concerned, disk activity pauses while it waits for the hard disk to respond.