648830 - Firefox using way too much RAM with AdBlock Plus, especiall in GMail chatting in Google Talk

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: Extension Compatibility, defect)

Description

[Andrew]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Arch Linux x86_64; rv:2.0) Gecko/20110321 Firefox/4.0
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Arch Linux x86_64; rv:2.0) Gecko/20110321 Firefox/4.0

Firefox on x86-64 in Arch Linux with XFCE hogs up tons of RAM. I usually idle around 170-180 MB, and it shoots up very high in GMail, either after using it for a while, or just opening an instance of Google Talk, around 200-240 MB. it eventuall starts swapping on my system (I've only got 512 MB on this system) and continues to creep up; seems like a memory leak. It seems like Firefox is using an abnormal amount of RAM. This with less then 3 tabs. Sometimes only 1.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Login to GMail.
2. Start fiddling around in GMail, or open up Google Talk
3. Watch as RAM steadily creeps up, never stopping.
---- or ----
1. Start Firefox.
2. Leave it open for 15 minutes, browsing around to different websites. RAM usage gets pretty high under these normal conditions.
Actual Results:  
RAM usage increases dramatically, and continues to creep up.
---- or ----
RAM usage starts out fairly high, and creeps up.

Expected Results:  
Normal RAM usage. Maybe 150 MB at max for my usage (about 3 tabs open at any time MAX).

I love Firefox and have had a hard time finding an alternative. I really want to use Firefox, and want to keep using it. But the RAM situation is causing problems. I've tried everything I could to fix it, and it does not work. AdBlock Plus is an absolute must, though the issues for the most part still exist with it disabled. (Though, idle RAM usage is indeed lower by about 10 MB or so)

Comment 1

[Andrew]

I just wanted to add that my vm.swappiness is 10.

Comment 2

[Andrew]

I'm sorry for the triple-post, but when I mean RAM I am talking about RES.

Comment 3

[Thomas Ahlblom]

about:memory can give you more detailed information about your memory usage in Firefox 4.

Comment 4

[Andrew]

Attachment: about:memory with an instance of Google Talk after 8 minutes (was going to do 10, but was about to start swapping).

about:memory with an instance of Google Talk after 8 minutes (was going to do 10, but was about to start swapping).

Comment 5

[Kevin Brosnan [Ex-Mozilla]]

Are you using adblock nightlies? They fixed a bug about memory usage in the nightly builds of adblock.

Comment 6

[Wladimir Palant]

No, the bug you are talking about was fixed in Adblock Plus 1.3.6 already.

Comment 7

[George Carstoiu]

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; rv:5.0a2) Gecko/20110417 Firefox/5.0a2

Could this be related to Bug 639129?

Comment 8

[George Carstoiu]

Reporter, any new information on this issue?

Comment 9

[George Carstoiu]

Setting resolution to Resolved Incomplete. Reporter, feel free to reopen if you can provide more information on your issue.