Thomas Kresge
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Q: Mac Pro 2013 Using Too Much RAM

I have a 6-core Mac Pro (2013) with 64GB of RAM. I have this feeling that the computer, and some assortment of processes, is sucking up a lot more of the RAM than they need to. As a point of reference, I use the vast majority of the RAM for audio production.

 

My concern is that, when I turn my computer on, it is already using 10 GBs of RAM right off the bat. One particular process, kernel_task, likes to use anywhere from 2-10 GBs. I can't imagine there is any reason for the Mac and all of its other processes to ever exceed even 4 GBs of RAM, let alone the upwards 20-30 that it will eventually consume. I say this because I migrated all of the data and processes form my 2010 Macbook Pro, which only has 8GB. Upon start-up, it is never using more than 2-4 GBs of RAM. I would assume, then, that my Mac Pro can get by using little more 4GBs (preserving the other 60GB for my much more resource-intensive music work). Both the MBP and Mac Pro have Mavericks 10.9.

 

Is there a way to cap the amount of RAM the computer, and any other process, uses, so I can preserve the majority of it for the tasks I know need it most?

Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Sep 12, 2014 5:35 PM

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Thomas Kresge

Q: Mac Pro 2013 Using Too Much RAM

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  • by Thomas Kresge,

    Thomas Kresge Thomas Kresge Sep 12, 2014 5:40 PM in response to Thomas Kresge
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 12, 2014 5:40 PM in response to Thomas Kresge

    Screen Shot 2014-09-12 at 12.57.31 PM.pngI've included this image for further reference.

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Sep 12, 2014 7:11 PM in response to Thomas Kresge
    Level 10 (208,044 points)
    Applications
    Sep 12, 2014 7:11 PM in response to Thomas Kresge

    It's normal in Mavericks for almost all memory to be in use, either by applications or by the file cache. That's what you should want, since unused memory is going to waste. The relevant measure of whether memory is in short supply is what Apple calls "memory pressure."

    Apple's explanation of memory pressure is here. If you want a more detailed, technical description, see here.

  • by The hatter,

    The hatter The hatter Sep 13, 2014 8:47 AM in response to Thomas Kresge
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    Sep 13, 2014 8:47 AM in response to Thomas Kresge

    Have you seen www.macperformanceguide.com ? focus is more on graphics and photography and where 128GB is shown to help.

     

    The old method, to conserve and not use memory, went away years ago so as not to let a valuable resource sit idle and not being used.

     

    Even if you don't have pageouts the system dynamically will use more if and when there is more memory present.

     

    The numbers you report are not unusual. 1-2GB in today's world is like 50MB might have been 20 years ago - people were moaning over the fact that OS 7 was a memory hog as it now needed 40-50MB just to launch the Finder.