What the heck? one process eating up my RAM!

[CristobalHuet]

I don't get this.

I login to my account, nothing is open, and 45% of my RAM is in use...I checked Activity Monitor, turns out "kernel_task" is EATING IT UP!

Please help, I have no idea what the heck this could be doing to take up so many ressources.

 

[CristobalHuet]

Now I open up every application in my dock, and the RAM usage mounts from 50% to just 70% - this with Mail, Safari, Adium, iTunes, VLC, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Keynote, PS, Skype, iMovie, TextEdit, Photo Booth, Quicksilver, X11...

This really is unbelievable, all these apps take up roughly 20-30% of my RAM (which is at 2GB)...and kernel processs takes up half of it!

Plus it's still running smoothly, gotta love a Mac.

 

[Eidorian]

http://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+kernel_task

 

[CristobalHuet]

http://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+kernel_task

Odd, now I close all the apps and the RAM usage is down to 20%.

lol, I figured that's what the process was, thanks for the link, maybe this is iStat RAM meter's doing...

 

[Sun Baked]

Don't worry about how the machine utilizes RAM.

You have to read the Apple Developer spiel on it before you get worried.