12 posts
Why Chrome, Slack, Teams, and Photoshop eat so much RAM, and what to do.
Chrome uses far more RAM than most people expect. Here's exactly why, how much is normal, and what you can realistically do about it.
App memory guidesDiscord uses 500 MB to 1.5 GB of RAM on Mac, sometimes more. Here's exactly why, what counts as normal, and what you can do to bring those numbers down.
App memory guidesSpotify, WhatsApp, Notion, Slack, Discord, Teams, VS Code. They all share one architecture: a Chromium browser plus a JavaScript bundle. Here is what that costs on every Mac.
App memory guidesFigma can use 500 MB to 2 GB per document. Here's exactly why, what the Helper (Renderer) process is, and what you can realistically do about it.
App memory guidesLightroom Classic on Mac happily uses 4-8 GB on a typical day. Here is what actually drives its memory use, and what to do about each piece.
App memory guidesTeams on Mac uses 1-2 GB on a fresh launch and 3-4 GB after a full day of calls. Here's exactly why, what's changed in the new Teams, and what actually helps.
App memory guidesOn an 8GB Apple Silicon Mac, Photoshop is genuinely usable for small to medium files, but tight for heavy layered work. Here's the honest read.
App memory guidesSafari is more memory-efficient than Chrome, but it's not immune to leaks. Here's what causes them, how to spot them, and what to do about them.
App memory guidesSlack uses 1-2 GB of RAM on a good day and 3 GB+ by Friday. Here's exactly why, how much is normal, and what you can realistically do about it.
App memory guidesVS Code uses 800 MB to 3 GB on a Mac depending on your extensions and project. Here's exactly why, what numbers are normal, and the practical fixes that help.
App memory guidesXcode regularly uses 4-8 GB of RAM with a single project open. Here's what eats memory in Xcode, realistic numbers across project sizes, and what you can do about each piece.
App memory guidesZoom uses 15-30% CPU on a normal call and 30-50% during screen-sharing on an M-series Mac. Here's exactly why, what you'll see in Activity Monitor, and what actually reduces the load.