What Is CPU? Why Chrome Using too much CPU
Chrome is one of the most popular browsers available today, but you might notice that it started working slower, which is very inconvenient. Moreover, you might also encounter more severe problems, such as browser freezing and crashing. So, what are the causes behind that? The thing is that CPU may be simply overloaded for many reasons, and more information on that you can find below.
What Is CPU?
CPU stands for the central processing unit, which is often merely referred to as the central processor or processor. In essence, it is the brains of the computer responsible for calculations, and it is the most critical element of the system. CPU consists of two components, including the following:
- The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) responsible for arithmetic/logical operations;
- The control unit (CU) that gets, decodes, and executes instructions.
Why Does Chrome Use too much CPU?
Chrome is the fastest browser that you can find today, and it is one of the reasons why it is so popular. To keep working quickly, it has to use much CPU, which means more battery drainage. Also, this may affect the work of other applications.
Another reason for extensive usage of CPU is that there are malicious, poorly designed, or other problematic extensions in your browser.
How Can You Make Chrome Use Less CPU?
It may be difficult to determine the exact problem, but you can do several simple things to improve the work of your browser.
Avoid opening many tabs
Usually, we have all those tabs opened even when we do not need to use them anymore. If you wish to use CPU less, you should leave only those tabs that you need. The thing is that every cost is another process, increasing the burden on your CPU. Mainly, checks with JavaScript and Flash elements take lots of power.
Remove extensions that you do not need
You should go through the list of your extensions to check out what is not necessary for you. The problem is that some extensions are poorly coded, have a bug, or some other issue, which affects the work of your browser. You should also keep in mind that disabling an extension may not solve a problem because it may still use CPU. This means that you need to obliterate a problematic extension. If you are not sure what to choose, you can try the Chrome Task Manager allowing you to find an issue.
Disable hardware acceleration
You should not use this option unless nothing else works. The browser uses the hardware acceleration for sharing heavy processing loads, which supposed to make the work of Chrome smooth, but it seems like it may not work well. Moreover, sometimes, it is the reason why Chrome uses too much CPU. You can try disabling it and check what happens.
If there is something that bothers you when you use Chrome, you should follow our recommendations for fixing it because likely it is due to high usage of CPU. In any case, they will help you to improve the work of your browser.