5Gb of RAM being used with NO software running?

My computer (brand new) was using 12 Gb of RAM so after I was done exporting my video I force-quit everything and 8 minutes later it's still using 5Gb or RAM, is this normal?! It seems like so much!

*Note: I only have 1 finder window open and it's just viewing the utilities folder, I used it to get to the "Activity Monitor" app.

Thanks! God bless!

Solution 1:

Sometimes the RAM doesn't clear properly - try running "purge" from the terminal - this will (as close as possible) clear the inactive RAM for you.

Also, the more RAM you have, the more your computer will use when idle for the background processes. This is normal and it won't get in the way of your performance.