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miacomet · Aug 31, 2011, 04:14 PM

Why is OS X Lion (10.7.1) so incredibly slow for internet browsing (I checked Safari or Firefox or Chrome, but I most always use Safari) on my older (but not that old) iMac?

Ok, I have several apple computers:

iPad 2 - browsing is very fast on my home wifi network and also at work on my very fast wifi network

iMac 27" Late 2009 - browsing is very fast at work on my wired T1 type connection.

Mac Book Air 13" 2011 1.8Ghz i7 - browsing is very fast on my home wifi network and also at work on my fast wifi network iMac

But now we get to my not as new computers:

iMac 24" Late 2007 4GB ram - at times internet browsing on my home wifi network or home wired network (doesn't seem to matter) can be "slow as molasses in the winter time" as my grandmother used to say. This computer used to browse lightning fast just a few months ago using Snow Leopard. So I do like Lion, but what can I do to have reasonably speeded browsing on this computer?

MacBook Pro (15", Late 2008) - same story as my iMac 24" Late 2007. Why is internet browsing on these older (but not that old) computers sometimes unreasonably slow??? They both seem to have plenty of ram and plenty of horsepower…

Waragainstsleep · Aug 31, 2011, 04:29 PM

My Late 2008 15" MBP is nippy enough. I have 8GB RAM in it, maybe thats the difference. I have heard that Safari 5.1 can be a bit of a memory monster. Its a good time to add RAM to both those Macs, I don't see it getting a lot cheaper.

Big Mac · Aug 31, 2011, 05:21 PM

It sounds like Safari is a real dog in Lion. You shouldn't need 8 GB just to comfortably browse the farking web. That's insane.

miacomet · Aug 31, 2011, 10:20 PM

Yes, I have 4GB of memory on both my MBP and my iMac 2007. That should be plenty to run Safari in Lion. The worlds fastest browser Safari is not, unless possibly you are running a 2011 machine.

According to my activity monitor on my iMac 2007, Safari is currently using 76.2MB of memory and 191.9MB of virtual memory.

Big Mac · Sep 1, 2011, 07:00 AM

That's normal. It's not RAM that's causing your problem. Maybe Apple optimized Safari for the latest Core i processors and didn't pay attention to the performance implications for older Macs.

Spheric Harlot · Sep 1, 2011, 10:41 AM

Not likely.

Turn off all Safari extensions and see if that cures your problem.

Before you do that, throw away SafariRestore. It's shit AND superfluous.

TETENAL · Sep 1, 2011, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by miacomet

According to my activity monitor on my iMac 2007, Safari is currently using 76.2MB of memory and 191.9MB of virtual memory.

That's only half the picture. You have to look at "Safari Web Content" and plug-in processes. View "All Processes, Hierarchically" in Activity Monitor to see what all belongs to Safari. Apple split the Safari UI and the rendering engine into two different processes, and that system has not fully matured yet.

See http://forums.macnn.com/82/applicati...-safari-sucks/

miacomet · Sep 1, 2011, 03:02 PM

1502 Safari 67.8 MB Intel (64 bit) 65.7 MB
1508 Flash Player (Safari Internet plug-in) 26.8 MB Intel 41.2 MB
1504 Safari Web Content 133.9 MB Intel (64 bit) 216.7 MB

Ok, I did the View "All Processes, Hierarchically" in Activity Monitor and I got what it says above. The first number is Real MB used and the second number is Virtual MB used.

What does that tell you? Is this buggy "Webkit2" thing my problem?

FireWire · Sep 1, 2011, 06:12 PM

that's a bummer! under 10.6.8, Webkit2 actually resolved my memory problems with Safari and surfing the net is very enjoyable! i'm not in a hurry to upgrade then...

Thinine · Sep 1, 2011, 08:25 PM

Are other browsers effected as well? If it's Safari only, I'd say it's likely a DNS issue, in which case you should use a third party like OpenDNS or Google's Public DNS.

besson3c · Sep 1, 2011, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by miacomet

Yes, I have 4GB of memory on both my MBP and my iMac 2007. That should be plenty to run Safari in Lion. The worlds fastest browser Safari is not, unless possibly you are running a 2011 machine.

According to my activity monitor on my iMac 2007, Safari is currently using 76.2MB of memory and 191.9MB of virtual memory.

I never have understood why Apple chose to call that column "virtual memory", because it's so easy to confuse that with the other kind of virtual memory that the OS uses when it is low on real memory.

Big Mac · Sep 2, 2011, 12:07 AM

Because it is virtual memory. It's memory space mapped to the application that isn't currently in RAM. Just because the term has a negative connotation for many doesn't mean it shouldn't be called what it is.

besson3c · Sep 2, 2011, 12:15 AM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Because it is virtual memory. It's memory space mapped to the application that isn't currently in RAM. Just because the term has a negative connotation for many doesn't mean it shouldn't be called what it is.

It is "virtual" memory, but I'm just saying that the difference between it and OS virtual memory - the whole disk swapping thing, is confusing.