Safari memory?

[james1758]

Ok so my mac is 6 years old, core 2 duo, 8gb ram (I upgraded) and standard 160gb HDD (I had ordered my ssd a while back and was all sorted, but returned it due to having unforeseen bills to pay, and never re-ordered one after that).

I know multiple tabs eats up at memory but I was wondering if this is normal memory usage for safari, as to me it seems like quite a bit, and with basically no programmes running 6gb/8gb of my ram is being used



My fans run 24/7, its constantly on no matter what I'm doing, even if I'm just using a few tabs of safari the fan will be on and the laptop hot to touch. Ive accepted this is just because my machine is old and possibly because I don't have an ssd. (I clean the inside of my mac every few months now, dust build up is crazy).

Is this a problem with safari, or my mac? From what I can remember doing I've cleared cache's, run disk repair, the only extension I now use is adblock

Thanks for any help,
James.

 

[gmintz09]

My 2013 Macbook Air responds similarly to Safari when I have multiple tabs open, so I don't know that it's the age of your computer. Often times it will use up nearly all of my 8 GB of RAM, but I don't really notice any hangups because of it. It seems to manage the memory fairly well. Are you having issues with your computer hanging or locking up because of this RAM usage?

 

[got556]

My Mid '09 MBP w/ a Crucial MX100 256gb SSD and 8GB RAM with the C2D does the same thing. Never did this on 10.10.2 and down, but on 10.10.3 I'm beach balling after a half day's use in Safari. My Late '13 i5/256/8 does this also.

 

[GGJstudios]

I know multiple tabs eats up at memory but I was wondering if this is normal memory usage for safari, as to me it seems like quite a bit, and with basically no programmes running 6gb/8gb of my ram is being used

Your memory pressure is in the green, so you don't have a memory problem. It is quite normal for all of your memory to be in use by OS X. It does not mean that you are running out of memory or that it is maxed out. OS X will manage all available memory, making it available to apps on an as-needed basis. Refer to the following Apple support article for more information on how to understand your Activity Monitor readings.

OS X Mavericks: About Activity Monitor​

The combination of Free, Wired, Active, Inactive & Used memory statistics in previous versions of Activity Monitor have been replaced in Mavericks with an easy to read "Memory Pressure" graph.
Memory pressure is indicated by color:

• Green – RAM memory resources are available.
• Amber – RAM memory resources are being tasked.
• Red – RAM memory resources are depleted and OS X is using the drive for memory.

My fans run 24/7, its constantly on no matter what I'm doing, even if I'm just using a few tabs of safari the fan will be on and the laptop hot to touch.

If you’re not already doing so, use iStat Pro (free) or iStat Menus ($16) to get accurate readings of your temps, fan speeds, etc., rather than relying on your sense of touch or sound. A forum member has posted a copy of iStat Pro that has been "tweaked" to enhance compatibility with recent OS X versions. You can download it here.

​

The Intel processors used in Macs are designed to automatically shut down to prevent damage if they truly overheat. CPU Tjmax = 105C (221F), GPU Tjmax = 100C (212F) on i3, i5, i7 processors. (GPU Tjmax may vary with specific models.)(Source: Intel)

​

Unless there is a rare defect in a Mac, most temps are well within the normal operating range, considering the workload being put on it. Websites with Flash content, games and other multimedia apps will put higher demand on the CPU/GPU, generating more heat. This is normal. If you’re constantly putting high demands on your system, such as gaming or other multimedia tasks, expect temps to rise and fans to spin up accordingly. It’s just your Mac doing its job to maintain temps within the normal range.

​

It is also quite normal for your Mac to become extremely hot to the touch during intensive operations. The aluminum body transfers heat more effectively than other materials used in computer casings, so you will feel the heat more. This doesn’t indicate that it’s overheating and will not harm the computer to be hot to the touch.

​

The fans in Macs will spin faster as needed to keep temps at a safe level. If your fans are spinning up without increased heat, try resetting the SMC. (PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with these issues, so resetting it will not help.)

​

The intake and exhaust vents are in the back of the computer near the hinge on all Mac notebooks (except the new MBP with retina display, which has intake vents along the sides at the bottom). The iMac vent is on the back of the computer. Make sure the vents remain unblocked to allow your computer to perform at its best.

Learn about the fans in your Mac

​

Apple Portables: Operating temperature​

For Flash-related issues:

• Find your Flash version and make sure it’s the latest version available.
• Install ClickToFlash (Safari), Flashblock (Firefox) or FlashBlock (Chrome) to control which Flash content plays on websites.
• Use the YouTube HTML5 Video Player to watch YouTube videos, when available. (May impact fullscreen viewing. See link for details.)

 

[james1758]

Your memory pressure is in the green, so you don't have a memory problem. It is quite normal for all of your memory to be in use by OS X. It does not mean that you are running out of memory or that it is maxed out. OS X will manage all available memory, making it available to apps on an as-needed basis.

Thanks I did not know this, its just with it getting constantly hot I thought something could be wrong, but I guess yeah age might be it.

Do you reckon an SSD upgrade would help this at all? Or would it not effect it?

Thanks,
James

 

[GGJstudios]

Do you reckon an SSD upgrade would help this at all? Or would it not effect it?

A SSD would give you a significant improvement in overall performance, compared to a HDD.

 

[chown33]

Thanks I did not know this, its just with it getting constantly hot I thought something could be wrong, but I guess yeah age might be it.

Do you reckon an SSD upgrade would help this at all? Or would it not effect it?

Thanks,
James

Older computers often have a layer of dust inside them. This acts as an insulator (like a blanket), so the fans have to run faster in order to keep the same temperature of the chip. It might be worthwhile taking it to a competent service location and have them open it up and clean the dust out.

It might be possible to use compressed air to just blow the dust out. That may not work, however. The dust may be adhered to the internal components, if it's been used in adverse environments. For example, tar from tobacco smoke has an adhesive quality, as does airborne grease from kitchens. Those aren't the only things, just a couple examples.


An SSD is unlikely to make any significant difference to the chip temperature. The SSD may take less power, but if the chips are running hot due to an internal layer of dust, then a lower power disk isn't going to change that.

If you intend to open it up to install an SSD, you should probably take the time to clean out the dust, too.

 

[james1758]

If you intend to open it up to install an SSD, you should probably take the time to clean out the dust, too.

Yeah I open it up every now and again and use compressed air, however last time I stripped one of the screws on the fan, and it stripped easily, so now I can't take the fan off to have a look at the heatsink, and I haven't touched that heatsink in 6 years so I'm guessing it will be bad. So yeah I think I'll take it into somewhere and 1) get them to replace the screw 2) clean it all out

Also any idea how I can get email notifications when someone responds in a thread? (Completely off topic I know)