kernel_task is occasionally eating all memory, why?

[LoveDager]

Hi!

Suddenly but now occasionally kernel_task uses around 1GB of memory, CPU seems normal (3%) but total virtual memory is at extreme 34GB!

This leads to my MBP Retina 15" being super slow and sometimes freezing completely for a bunch of seconds.

Can I fix this?

 

[Weaselboy]

Looks like you have a Chrome tab there running 46% of a CPU and a ton of Chrome tabs open. What if you reboot and don't use Chrome, but use Safari instead for a while. Does the problem still exist then?

 

[grahamperrin]

kernel_task (probably not a problem); sysdiagnose

kernel_task is occasionally eating all memory …

… occasionally kernel_task uses around 1GB …

On a system with 8 GB, use of 1 GB by kernel_task is not, in itself, a concern.

(Here at the time of writing, the measurements are 3.89 GB (5.84 GB real memory) – screenshot attached. For my use case, it's expected.)

… sometimes freezing completely for a bunch of seconds. …

Is the drive for the startup volume hard disk, solid state or hybrid?

What size is that volume, and how much space is free?

Technical

For methodical diagnosis of the cause of a freeze, I would begin with the key chord for sysdiagnose at the time of the freeze.

In Ask Different: Apple sysdiagnose