what is wrong with my kernel_task on snow leopard?

[tongteh]

hello everybody.. my snow leopard is working alright so far, but i am just not sure why do i have a kernel_task running on 32bit on snow leopard? is this normal, should it be at 64bit?

My activity monitor message:
0 kernel_task root 1.9 61 175.0 MB Intel 53.5 MB

 

[Daveoc64]

hello everybody.. my snow leopard is working alright so far, but i am just not sure why do i have a kernel_task running on 32bit on snow leopard? is this normal, should it be at 64bit?

My activity monitor message:
0 kernel_task root 1.9 61 175.0 MB Intel 53.5 MB

This is normal for your computer and it cannot be changed.

 

[tongteh]

a little more information please? like what does the kernal_task function for? thanks

 

[Daveoc64]

a little more information please? like what does the kernal_task function for? thanks

kernel_task is the process relating to the Kernel of the Operating System.

Snow Leopard uses a 32-bit Kernel by default, mainly for compatibility reasons.

On some computers, you can choose to make it use a 64-bit Kernel, but that wont work on the MacBook in your signature.

 

[tongteh]

thanks...

 

[jmpage2]

It's also worth noting that the only real limitation of running the SL 32 bit kernel vs the 64 bit one is how much RAM can be addressed by the kernel.

32 bit SL kernel can address up to 32GB of RAM. The 64 bit SL kernel can address a whole lot more.

Both 32 and 64 bit kernels still execute and manage 64 bit applications (like Finder, Safari, etc) so unless you have more than 32GB of RAM there aren't really any benefits to running the 64 bit kernel that I am aware of.

 

[tongteh]

It's also worth noting that the only real limitation of running the SL 32 bit kernel vs the 64 bit one is how much RAM can be addressed by the kernel.

32 bit SL kernel can address up to 64GB of RAM. The 64 bit SL kernel can address a whole lot more.

Both 32 and 64 bit kernels still execute and manage 64 bit applications (like Finder, Safari, etc) so unless you have more than 32GB of RAM there aren't really any benefits to running the 64 bit kernel that I am aware of.

lol. would anyone have more than 64GB of RAM? thanks for the additional information.. so practically right now, there's not much difference for my kernel(32bit) to a 64bit kernel.. just wondering what mac models can have that 64bit kernel then?

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

lol. would anyone have more than 64GB of RAM? thanks for the additional information.. so practically right now, there's not much difference for my kernel(32bit) to a 64bit kernel.. just wondering what mac models can have that 64bit kernel then?

All the high-end (kind of ironic since Macs are high-end) Macs:

Xserves (64-bit kernel by default)
Mac Pro
MacBook Pro
iMac? (not sure on this one)

 

[jmpage2]

lol. would anyone have more than 64GB of RAM? thanks for the additional information.. so practically right now, there's not much difference for my kernel(32bit) to a 64bit kernel.. just wondering what mac models can have that 64bit kernel then?

I made a mistake, 32 bit kernel can only address 32GB of RAM if I remember correctly.

Still more than hardware supports currently in workstation class machines.

I'm not aware of which Mac platforms might automatically boot up into the 64 bit kernel.