ARM MAC = new Windows Vista machines in 2025

[NewOldStock]

nvram recovery-boot-mode=unused
reboot
non issue format

 

[throAU]

View attachment 2523220

OP: Is your memory pressure green, yellow, or red? That's all that's mattered since OS X 10.9. If you're in the green, you're good. Yellow is when the system is starting to get "overwhelmed".
Activiy Monitor screenshots would be very helpful. This is my current load - system is snappy, and I have the M1 Pro, not Max.

For what its worth...
I've had memory pressure in the orange on M1 Pro and not even noticed. I'd forgotten I had a second or third VM running in the background.

 

[123123123]

In any case, let's close this topic for now as the only solution for me is to go to a different OS where they don't have these silly background processes that Apple has.

All modern operating systems have buckets of background processes. The last time I looked at a Win11 task manager it couldn’t even update itself properly because of all the open processes. MacOS is built on a (basically) Unix base, it’ll obviously have many background processes. That isn’t to say that things aren’t malfunctioning for you, but the presence of assorted background processes is just part and parcel of modern operating systems.

 

[redcarian]

So, as a point of comparison, here’s the top few lines of top output on my Arch (btw) system*:

top - 07:48:24 up 12 min,  1 user,  load average: 0.72, 0.54, 0.36
Tasks: 398 total, 1 running, 397 sleep, 0 d-sleep, 0 stopped, 0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  0.2 us,  0.1 sy,  0.0 ni, 99.6 id,  0.0 wa,  0.0 hi,  0.0 si,  0.0 st
MiB Mem :  32000.0 total,  25358.1 free,   4397.3 used,   2926.5 buff/cache   
MiB Swap:      0.0 total,      0.0 free,      0.0 used.  27602.7 avail Mem

I’m running the KDE Plasma desktop, and there’s just a terminal and this browser window.

And here’s comparable output from my Mac**. Again, just a terminal and a browser:

Processes: 678 total, 2 running, 676 sleeping, 3084 threads            06:50:39
Load Avg: 3.35, 3.58, 3.59  CPU usage: 4.30% user, 4.7% sys, 91.61% idle
SharedLibs: 818M resident, 158M data, 129M linkedit.
MemRegions: 0 total, 0B resident, 473M private, 1444M shared.
PhysMem: 14G used (1874M wired, 1671M compressor), 1380M unused.
VM: 294T vsize, 5154M framework vsize, 0(0) swapins, 0(0) swapouts.
Networks: packets: 6889139/9524M in, 814355/319M out.
Disks: 3349641/53G read, 1555918/55G written.

Heh. Looks like the timezone is wrong on my Arch (btw) install

* AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8C/16T, 32GB, RTX4070
** 14” M1 Pro MBP, 8C, 16GB

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

I'm not going to switch to Windows. I will be running Linux and Windows, just like what I did in the past before I went Mac. And I still have a M2 MacBook Air and M1 Max MacBook Pro, so I still have access to Mac OS. But I see no point buying a new Mac when Mac OS is so horribly inefficient.

Well, Windows Vista was a mess, just like the current Mac OS, that I'm even running out of memory on a M1 Max MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM.

And yet, here I am running AutoCAD, thermal modelling tools, alongside all the typical web browsing/communication apps, on an 18GB M3 Pro with no problem.

Maybe your machine has hit a specific bug that a bit of troubleshooting could fix?

I've barely even noticed when I've forced it to hit the swap hard by adding a Windows VM and Ollama to the mix. I still remain impressed by macOS, as I was when I compared OS X Jaguar to Windows XP.

 

[XboxEvolved]

This is the first and only platform where I have seen how a machine with 32GB RAM doing very basic super easy workflows that you can do on a 15 years old computer without any problem, is flooding my memory and filling up all my remaining free disk space, forcing me restart the machine.

And it's Apple their own background processes that are hogging up my memory, not 3rd party apps. I checked what one of these "Apple apps" is doing, and one of these stupid ass apps is basically scanning my entire computer constantly for "media". Did I ask Apple to do this?

ARM Mac's are the new Windows Vista machines basically.

Lol wtf are you even talking about? Were you even alive when Vista came out? Vista was freaking awful. macOS and Arm Macs are fine 😂

 

[XboxEvolved]

And yet, here I am running AutoCAD, thermal modelling tools, alongside all the typical web browsing/communication apps, on an 18GB M3 Pro with no problem.

Maybe your machine has hit a specific bug that a bit of troubleshooting could fix?

I've barely even noticed when I've forced it to hit the swap hard by adding a Windows VM and Ollama to the mix. I still remain impressed by macOS, as I was when I compared OS X Jaguar to Windows XP.

Naw he's just a low tier troll man he doesn't actually have these problems.

 

[throAU]

Maybe your machine has hit a specific bug that a bit of troubleshooting could fix?

Maybe he's just looking at numbers he doesn't really understand and there is no actual performance problem.

 

[mr.datsun]

This is the first and only platform where I have seen how a machine with 32GB RAM doing very basic super easy workflows that you can do on a 15 years old computer without any problem, is flooding my memory and filling up all my remaining free disk space, forcing me restart the machine.

And it's Apple their own background processes that are hogging up my memory, not 3rd party apps. I checked what one of these "Apple apps" is doing, and one of these stupid ass apps is basically scanning my entire computer constantly for "media". Did I ask Apple to do this?

ARM Mac's are the new Windows Vista machines basically.

>apps is basically scanning my entire computer constantly for "media".

That part of your post a genuine concern, but what is needed is positive requests for methods to deal with it (i.e. stop it). Rather than the more general, inflamatory, point you are trying to make.

 

[PaulD-UK]

"...what is needed is positive requests for methods to deal with it (i.e. stop it)."

The OP could have spent two minutes googling for this, but it's much more fun to troll...😶

Is Apple checking images we view in the Finder?

Can it be true that Apple is sent information about every image we browse in the Finder? Analysis of Visual Look Up and Live Text and when it happens.

eclecticlight.co

How to stop mediaanalysisd from hogging your CPU in macOS | AppleInsider

There have been varying reports of the mediaanalysisd background process causing excessive CPU usage in macOS when scanning photos. Here's what it is, what it does, and how to stop it.

appleinsider.com

 

[Philip1]

I am curious about something related.
An hour after startup (on 10.15.7 and using Mail, Edge & TextEdit so obvs. not very demanding) photolibraryd is no.1 cpu time and media-indexer no.4, above any of those apps, media-indexer is in fifth place for memory and photolibraryd is 1st place for Disc with 8.2 GB! (Several times larger than my Photos Library.) Oh, and I haven't added anything to Photos for 5 years 😂. I have no justifiable issue with it and don't need/want a fix, but I can't help feeling that Apple has a 'f*ck it, we gave him enough memory so let's just do it regardless' attitude.

Amusingly softwareupdated is also continuously running several years after Apple stopped proving me with updates. I wouldn't have been irritated thinking I would have to upgrade to 16GB a year ago if they were just a teensy bit more efficient in their programming.

 

[ignatius345]

I'm not going to switch to Windows. I will be running Linux and Windows, just like what I did in the past before I went Mac.

Go for it! I hope you enjoy. Bye!

 

[ignatius345]

flooding my memory and filling up all my remaining free disk space, forcing me restart the machine

LOL. Whatever is happening here is, I dare say, not the daily experience of other Mac users. If I had to guess, sounds like you're staring at Disk Utility constantly, scrutinizing it for signs of (gasp) virtual memory use, instead of just using the machine.

 

[aaronage]

Again, don't think OP is sincere in their complaint 😅, but it's a good chance to highlight one of the nice things about macOS and Apple Silicon.

Background tasks were a bit of a nightmare with Intel. Background tasks like software updates, Spotlight indexing, Xcode updates etc. had a direct impact on performance and quality-of-life. Having a couple cores busy on a power chugger like Coffee Lake would drastically impact battery life 🪫, create a lot of heat 🥵, and a lot of fan noise 🙉

This stopped being a problem with Apple Silicon. macOS assigns background/low priority tasks to the efficiency cores on Apple Silicon (via GCD QoS). The efficiency cores use so little power that they can run flat out without generating enough heat to spin up the fans. It also means that all the performance cores remain free to use as you please - background tasks can gobble up the efficiency cores with negligible impact on performance.

This ^ is one of the many big wins Apple Silicon delivered.

I play around with a lot of hardware and love to try out everything in the PC space (Zen 5, Arrow Lake, X Elite etc.), I can tell you with confidence that Microsoft hasn't cracked this. Windows does not have the scheduling smarts to deliver an experience like this (not saying that to be a hater, but really to highlight how special the macOS/Apple Silicon combination is - these benefits are invisible but very impactful!)

 

[Philip1]

Background tasks were a bit of a nightmare with Intel. Background tasks like software updates, Spotlight indexing, Xcode updates etc. had a direct impact on performance and quality-of-life. Having a couple cores busy on a power chugger like Coffee Lake would drastically impact battery life 🪫, create a lot of heat 🥵, and a lot of fan noise 🙉

This stopped being a problem with Apple Silicon. macOS assigns background/low priority tasks to the efficiency cores on Apple Silicon (via GCD QoS). The efficiency cores use so little power that they can run flat out without generating enough heat to spin up the fans. It also means that all the performance cores remain free to use as you please - background tasks can gobble up the efficiency cores with negligible impact on performance.

Good to know! I think my 2013 Intel iMac still has a bit of life in it yet but it's nice to hear these niggles get sorted.

 

[tenthousandthings]

"...what is needed is positive requests for methods to deal with it (i.e. stop it)."

The OP could have spent two minutes googling for this, but it's much more fun to troll...😶

Is Apple checking images we view in the Finder?

Can it be true that Apple is sent information about every image we browse in the Finder? Analysis of Visual Look Up and Live Text and when it happens.

eclecticlight.co

How to stop mediaanalysisd from hogging your CPU in macOS | AppleInsider

There have been varying reports of the mediaanalysisd background process causing excessive CPU usage in macOS when scanning photos. Here's what it is, what it does, and how to stop it.

appleinsider.com

The OP has a thing for Nvidia, he (?) thinks the RTX 5090 will solve all of his problems, but he does have a knack for starting interesting threads (after he flees):

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-is-falling-behind-m4-max-nowhere-close-to-rtx-5090.2454589/

 

[robvalentine]

If you're unhappy with the OS, then definitely, switch over to windows. You'll have to put up with MS spying on you, recording your actions, and giving you ads in the OS.

I recently switched back to Mac from Windows, I never fully abanonded the Mac platform, but it wasn't my full time device. Now it is, and I can tell you from my experience, macOS has a lot more to offer, and is far better for the consumer. The old adage, it just works.

Please provide some details on why you think macOS is Apple's Vista?

btw, after it was released, vista turned out to be a solid OS, and it was the basis for windows 7, Microsoft's wildly popular OS. So it wasn't all bad, just perception

There are scripts to debloat windows, and switch telemetry off, which I did on my Windows laptop, which I need as some software for my uni course is kinda bodged on mac.

I will say though I much prefer MacOS for a computer, and android for my phone.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Naw he's just a low tier troll man he doesn't actually have these problems.

Glancing through his comment history, there's nothing to suggest trolling. It's likely just based on a misunderstanding of how RAM, SSDs, OSes (including macOS) work. Or there's some application or process OP is running (maybe inadvertently) on his Mac that's causing an issue.

There are many commenters in here who were trying to provide helpful answers and get clarification. I think OP, rather than trolling, just doesn't know how to learn from something when wrong about it. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, especially because it's not a new account with some drive-by inflammatory post.

 

[IJustWannaTalk]

And yes, I complain about Apple with this unnecessary bloat, which includes spying on me. 32GB RAM of RAM should be more than enough when using cloud computing.

Is your computer slow or are you solely complaining about RAM usage?

 

[IJustWannaTalk]

I was planning to buy a new PC with a RTX 5090 once there are some nice discounts in any case.

WE GET IT.

But you seem to be the only person having trouble with your setup, which is why we're asking questions.

But since your only reply is "i'm working in the cloud" we have little go on.

Are you here to help solve the problem or just complain while repeating you're going to buy a PC soon?

 

[Wando64]

You guys are really missing the point here.

You know what? You are right; I am missing the point.
What is the point? You tell me.
Are you expecting people here to agree with your assessment and validate your aggrievement and subsequent choices?

My experience is different from yours, but if things were to change, rest assured I will come and look for you on LinuxRumours.com and let you know that you were right all along.
In the meantime I hope you’ll find the right tools for you.

 

[tenthousandthings]

WE GET IT.

But you seem to be the only person having trouble with your setup, which is why we're asking questions.

But since your only reply is "i'm working in the cloud" we have little go on.

Are you here to help solve the problem or just complain while repeating you're going to buy a PC soon?

If the OP follows past behavior, you won’t get an answer — their April thread about Nvidia was visible on the front page and active for a long time but the OP never reappeared after the first day…

 

[Rychiar]

funny, my new Macs work better than any other Mac ever before...

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I'm quite happy with my mac setup, but I agree that macos seems to use more and more resources. The processes consuming most CPU on my machine is often from macos, even though I use some quite performance hungry third party apps. CGPDFService regularly uses quite a lot of CPU, networked time machine backups sometimes use all free CPU resources on all cores for a couple of minutes, etc etc.

Yeah. I don't get the people saying that macOS isn't bloated. Apple has always relied on hardware to cover for their software issues, and I don't see it changing anytime soon.

Apple just has really good hardware.

 

[mansplains]

Why are you avoiding telling us what software you are using and showing activity monitor?

SHOW US ACTIVITY MONITOR, or it didn't happen.

I came for the popcorn. But at this moment the OP is very wrong unless the post PROOF.

He can’t take a screenshot, the computer is already overloaded while doing nothing, obviously!