Photoshop is a memory hog

Holding memory after images are closed is not about being ready to load the same images again, just keeping the memory reserved for the next use, which could be a different image or running a function such as a filter. It is quicker than requesting new memory each time.

Dave

This is why you set a sensible limit to memory allocation in PS preferences. That way you can make sure other processes and applications have enough.

In reality this isn't a problem, because most of the heavy lifting will be in the scratch disk anyway, not RAM. Especially nowadays with the new ultra-fast NVMe drives, which for all practical purposes are as fast as RAM. I'm sure there is a measurable speed difference, but the point is that you don't sit around waiting for the NVMe, the way you often did with the old spinning drives.

ya ive had images opened that i then closed.

well that design must be great if all you do is load (the same?) images over and over into photoshop but if you have other apps running and using in your system this is just hogging memory.

this design invites you to close photoshop everytime you want to take a break from it.

Don't know what's happening there. I have less than 1.3 GB.

Note that if you have an image open and then close it, the memory is not released, but recycled and reused. This is by design, because requesting it from the OS all over every time is much slower. It is released when the application closes.