memory and large arrays

I read a large array in from a file :100-150 million by 8 double. After (in array) manipulation I only need the first three rows. These have to be converted (new arrays) and saved. Is there any advantage in deleting the surplus rows?

Answer 1

[Thorsten]

If you clear the variables that you do not need Matlab will less likely run out of memory. But if you don't have memory issues, you can keep them, of course. A matrix of 150 million x 8 uses 9.6 GB of memory on my system. You will probably like to get rid of it as soon as possible.