Skype Memory Usage

[ir0nfist]

I have to agree here.  The memory usage is huge compared to other voip apps.  For example, currently TeamSpeak 3 is using 18.58mb and Skype is using 109.51mb.  This is one of the main reasons I find myself very rarely using skype.  And if I do have to use it, I quickly get the person I am trying to talk with over onto TeamSpeak.  Add to that no push to talk functionality in Skype (though there is an external program to add this, why do I need to use an external program to do this?) and it's just a huge deal breaker.

[CountryDreams]

I'm running 5.5.0.124 on Win 7. I was just doing some graphics work with Skype running in the background and all of a sudden everything slowed down. I checked Task Manager and Skype was using 700 MB so I shut it down. Last weekend it was using 4.3GB..yes I said GB...while idling!!

WTF?

[AdriaanNel]

I have to agree, Skype has really deteriorated in the last year or so...it was always a bare boned chat + call + conferencing solution, but Skype has lost focus. It won't be long before it goes the familiar route of a company that lost focus. Please return to your roots and stick to the basics Skype.

[sbqwrs]

I agree. Skype on my computer is using 254 MB right now! And it is doing nothing (5.3.0.120 - Windows XP)

[delyang]

I am just a normal Skype user - text and occational talk, so I installed the 3.6.0.248 and stay with it.  The foot print is staying around 30MB constantly - with 3 or 4 chat rooms open at all time.  Don't know if doing this will missing out any fancy functions that I "could" use, but the major thing for me is still treating Skype as a communication tool and not a main application.

[delyang]

forgot to mention that I have W7 Ultimate and all the patches too.

[chrishauser]

When I leave Skype running for a few days without restarting I can see a memory utilization of over 900 MB. I use Desktop sharing once in a while as well.

My workaround is to restart Skype on a daily basis.

Chris

[michagrau]

Let me second the complaints, the memory usage of the program is unacceptable. A skype light might be a good idea. But after reading the halfhearted excuses of some TheUberOverLord (!) and understanding that this is obviously the official response of the company I lost hope.

I am a very loyal paying costumer, about to leave. If I tell my family and friends I need to leave skype they will do so too as I am the technically literate here.

best regards and happy suicide wishes

TheUnterUnderCostumer

[YesMan]

Similar problem here... I finally updated to the new version of Skype, and memory usage jumped to 115 MB at idle on my laptop (4 GB RAM, Windows 7 64-bit).  I also have a netbook I use a lot for which that much memory usage would make real problems if I was trying to use, say, Firefox at the same time.  The older version I had (Skype 4x) used only about 30-50 MB, tops, no matter how long it had been running.  I saw one of the Skype commenters say that 100 MB is normal usage for Skype but clearly that is only true for the new version (5x), and therein lies the problem.  I will likely have to go back to an older version until it is no longer supported or something.. at which time if Skype has not somehow fixed this problem or offered a "Skype Lite" as someone suggested, I will have to switch to a different VOIP. 

[jelgue]

I have frequently for the last couple of years or so been searching for solutions to this memory hog that skype is doing. Mine is about 95Mb now (v 5.5.59.124) and I still think this is too much. Skype is not something essential for my computer, it should be a background thing that I use maybe a couple of times a day. I really want to keep using Skype, I have been a faithful user for many years, but this is really annoying! And now I think the program gets bloated too with way too many bells and whistles, ads that are not possible to remove, not even if you buy credits and pay for your usage. Social media integration - which I don't like. Too little focus on what it is supposed to do, and way too much space being consumed from paddings and buttons and buttons with padding and more padding and even some margins I guess too. I want to see my contacts and my chat. Compact and clean. Nothing else!

Please.Fix.