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ObsidianOps
n00b
Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Boston, MA
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 Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:07 pm Post subject: Some interesting memory usage trends |
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Basically, I've noticed that at some times, my system will run really fast and efficiently, where as other times it will be slow as freakin' hell. I decided I needed to explore this more, so I set up as scientific a study as I could without planning it. I left my computer running for a lengthy period of time with the programs I use most often open, and periodically checked and recorded the memory usage of these programs (they also happened to be the most memory intensive. I was able to conclude some sort of statistical significance in the results.
Basic info on my system (Output of "uname -a")
| Code: | | Linux obsidian64 2.6.16-gentoo-r12 #1 Sun Sep 17 15:16:31 EDT 2006 x86_64 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 2800+ AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux |
The main programs I was running during the experiment were:
X [XFCE (4.3.90.2)]
firefox-bin, open to several windows, most just random websites (e.g. gmail, facebook, slashdot) and to add a plugin to the mix, google video.
amarok, not playing any music, just minimized with entire collection opened as playlist.
And here, are my results:
| Code: | ----------------------------------------------------------
| Memory Usage (MiB) |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Time | 1639 | 2048 | 2336 | 0218 | 1418 | 1419* |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| firefox-bin | 70.3 | 87.5 | 114.7 | 124.8 | 87.7 | 34.3 |
| X | 38.2 | 55.7 | 75.9 | 87.8 | 177.8 | 18.0 |
| amarokapp | 46.4 | 46.4 | 46.4 | 46.4 | 46.6 | 43.9 |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* At this point I restarted X and opened these same programs. |
For those of you who don't really feel like analyzing the table, it basically boils down to the fact that when firefox and X are left unattended, their memory footprint appears to take on a great deal of weight, even though they shouldn't be changing. Amarok, a bulky program itself, sleeps quietly, staying the way it should.
As a side note, xscreensaver was probably running throughout most of the trial, although it was interrupted (as expected) when I checked the numbers. I also did minor activity on the computer during this (such as check my email), but not using any additional programs, nor even opening any additional tabs in firefox.
I'd also like point out that I don't, in fact, just observe the memory usage of my computer all day, as the times indicated might suggest. Most of the time was spent studying for an organic chemistry exam.  |
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V0rtex
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Joined: 13 Apr 2003
Posts: 71
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| Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:46 am Post subject: |
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I have noticed the same thing about firefox. Even using it in Windows, if you leave it open long enough and especially with a number of tabs open it seems to use up memory and not free it. I believe that the cause of this is at least partially that firefox doesn't clean out much of it's memory-cached data until you close it. Oh well, I still like firefox. I like Opera too, but I probably won't really claim it as my favorite until it is open-sourced  |
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Janne Pikkarainen
Veteran
Joined: 29 Jul 2003
Posts: 1143
Location: Helsinki, Finland
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| Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 8:44 am Post subject: |
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In my experience Firefox leaks memory in two cases:
- Some very buggy extension is installed.
- You leave a some Flash-containing tab open. Flash plugin tends to eat memory over time.
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