Given the similarities between both machines and application usage, I can't help but suspect some type of hardware issue is plaguing a percentage of machines out there.
Given the similarities between both machines and application usage, I can't help but suspect some type of hardware issue is plaguing a percentage of machines out there.
Assuming the iCloud-enabled machine is the one with the problem, it seems odd to jump to the conclusion it's hardware? That's a lot of extra code running on the machine; not just iCloud itself but every single iCloud-aware app. There's a lot of additional potential surface area with iCloud enabled.
Edit: A recent reddit thread may have correctly identified the WindowServer leak being related to the amount of full screen video played. My impacted MacBook is often used for Netflix/Hulu content. https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/qos5n5/memory_leaks_...