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Forum Discussion
Dropbox using high amount of RAM / memory
This is an issue for Dropbox running macOS Mojave 10.14.6. I've been using Dropbox for many years but as a really light user. I probably have around 200 data files, sizes ranging from a few bytes to a few hundred kilobytes. And the total is about 60 MB. I use Drop only for four apps; one which I never use, two others rarely, and one once a day. Most of the files are rarely used. So changes happen only to a few tiny-sized files.
My usage on my MacBook has increased, so I started to use Activity Monitor to see which apps require culling to free up RAM. I'm really surprised that Dropbox often appears at the top five or four culprits. It takes up over 400 MB, which is insane as it is way larger than my other productivity apps which are constantly in use. Even if there are no active syncs, it still hogs RAM.
I read the link posted by a moderator for similar threads in the past: possible symptoms of the excessive RAM amounts in this article
however, it mostly emphasises high CPU usage, and only a short paragraph on why one should have high RAM consumption. I don't have any issues with high CPU usage for Dropbox; monitoring it shows it hovers around the 0.2% of CPU usage. I don't think I have that many files. So that link is unhelpful for me.
My Google Backup and Sync, and Onedrive consumes a lot less RAM, and I'm using them more frequently.
Would any one have any recommendations, solutions or suggestions which helped them with this issue?
Thank you.
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hi gumdrops; welcome to our Community!
May I have a screenshot of your Activity Monitor to have a visual as well?
While we're at it, have you tried re-installing the app at all lately?
If not, could you give it a go using our most recent, stable build's offline installer and let me know the results?
Thanks!
Thanks for the welcome. :-)
I uploaded two screenshots, one is macOS's Activity Monitor, while the other is a monitoring app called iStats Menus.
macOS Activity Monitor
iStats Menus
When I boot my MacBook, Dropbox usually consumes above 200 MB, and then over time, it rises over 400 MB.
No, I have not re-installed the app lately. I will try using the installer provided in the link, and get back to you.
So, I uninstalled Dropbox, and re-installed with the version in the link you gave. Then, I re-started my MacBook. I went to look at how Dropbox do this time:
Activity Monitor post-reinstall Dropbox with offline installer.
iStats Menus post-reinstall Dropbox with offline installer.
As you can see from Activity Monitor, it still takes up over 200 MB even after re-boot. But hey, Dropbox takes number one position this time. Yaaaaaaay........ but I jest, not really yay.
I don't know why Dropbox is so hungry, nomming so much of my RAM. It really needs to be on a diet.
Do you have any idea why this is happening or suggestions to solve this RAM issue?
