
More memory being used by one process means there is less memory available to the system overall. The “significant memory” warning is an indicator that a tab is asking for a lot of system resources, which may lead to a performance drop. There also may be scripts running in the background of a webpage that introduce additional overhead. This is often the case with complex websites like social media feeds or web applications like Google Docs which handle a lot of data.

Some websites require more system resources than others. To make the most of available memory, the solid-state drive is used as a temporary location to “ swap” data in and out as required, which is why a Mac with twice as much memory isn’t necessarily twice as capable.

The more memory you have, the longer you can go before running out. Your computer uses physical memory, or RAM (random access memory), to store data that needs to be rapidly accessed by the system. What the “Significant Memory” Warning Really Means
