HT4287: Mac OS X: 64-bit kernel frequently asked questions

Learn about Mac OS X: 64-bit kernel frequently asked questions

moveovermike

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Q: What is Kernel Task ?

Was trying to find out what eats up my Ram memory and pulled up the activity monitor and discovered Kernel Task was using up 500mb of memory. Is this a neccessary process and should it use up that much memory? Mac neophyte here

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Dec 11, 2013 9:40 PM

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Q: What is Kernel Task ?

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by Paul_31,Helpful

Paul_31 Dec 11, 2013 10:47 PM in response to moveovermike
Level 6 (13,925 points)

Dec 11, 2013 10:47 PM in response to moveovermike

In layman's terms, it's the heartbeat of the OS - without it running you wouldn't have a working OS. On my late '09 27" iMac kernel_task typically uses 750mb-1gb of memory as shown in Activity Monitor. What you're seeing sounds normal to me.
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by moveovermike,

moveovermike Dec 13, 2013 4:28 PM in response to Paul_31
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Dec 13, 2013 4:28 PM in response to Paul_31

Thanks for the reply. It looks like I need to upgrade from 4-8gb of Ram to make things run a little smoother. Iphoto and Itunes take up a lot!
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HT4287: Mac OS X: 64-bit kernel frequently asked questions

Q: What is Kernel Task ?

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by Paul_31,★Helpful

by moveovermike,

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by Paul_31,Helpful