One Chrome tab can kill a Mac. Watch what 6,000 do to a Mac Pro with 1.5TB of RAM

By Oliver Haslam
last updated

Pro Display XDR next to a Mac Pro
Pro Display XDR next to a Mac Pro (Image credit: iMore)

Mac Pro 6000 Chrome Tabs

Mac Pro 6000 Chrome Tabs (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • A single Chrome tab eats RAM. It's just a fact.
  • But how many tabs can a new Mac Pro with 1.5TB RAM handle?
  • Jonathan Morrison wanted to find out.

We already know that Chrome is a RAM monster. It eats as much as it can get. So the thought of having 6,000 tabs open on a single Mac makes my skin crawl. But what if that Mac is a Mac Pro? And what if that Mac Pro has 1.5TB of RAM?

YouTuber Jonathan Morrison wanted to see what it would take to max out his Mac Pro with 1.5TB of RAM. And while some people try multiple video edits and others run thousands of audio tracks to see what happens, Morrison took a different approach. He decided to see how many Chrome tabs his Mac Pro could handle.

Turns out it was a lot.

You're no doubt wondering how much it would cost to kit out a Mac Pro with 1.5TB of RAM. And the answer is less than you might think, so long as you don't ask Apple to install it. Instead, Morrison went the OWC route, saving big in the process.

You really need to watch the video to enjoy the madness that is 6,000 tabs on a Mac. You won't regret it!

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.