mysql memory

[Valentin Bud]

Hello community,

 I have mysql installed on FreeBSD 7.0 i386. I am using mysqltuner.pl from
ports
to check for tuning parameters. Now my problem, sort of speak, is that
mysqltuner.pl
shows the following:
[OK] Maximum possible memory usage: 1.6G (53% of installed RAM)

 So as far as i understand mysql is limited to using max 1.6G of RAM. But
top
shows different things
PID USERNAME  THR PRI NICE   SIZE    RES   STATE  C   TIME    WCPU COMMAND
68083 mysql           18  44    0       2901M  1927M ucond   3   608:36
1.07%  mysqld

 Why is mysql using more memory than showed in mysqltuner. Is mysqltuner
inaccurate?

 Mysql is used for storing fulltext obtained throuhg OCR from different
documents. Is there a way
to make a chart on how much memory is needed for a given number of pages or
documents?

thanks,
v
-- 
network warrior since 2005