Re: Issue 373923 in chromium: Google Chrome Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Labels: Performance

Comment #1 on issue 373923 by meh...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper
Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

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Updates:
Cc: tkonch...@chromium.org
Labels: Needs-Feedback

Comment #3 on issue 373923 by tkonch...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Unable to reproduce the issue on mac 10.9 chrome version 34.0.1847.137
(Official Build 268882) and latest canary 37.0.1995.0 (Official Build
270873)

Opened many tabs in chrome and observed the Google Chrome Helper process in
activity monitor could not see such huge CPU usage as mentioned above.
Please find the screenshot.

Could you please provide more info to reproduce this issue from our end.

Attachments:
373923.png 158 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #4 on issue 373923 by meganken...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Running Mac 10.8.5, Chrome version 34.0.1847.137. The issue starts for me
immediately upon starting Chrome, and just stays that way for as long as
it's open.

Attachments:
screenshot1.jpg 135 KB
screenshot2.jpg 163 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Cc: a...@chromium.org ligim...@chromium.org sau...@chromium.org
som...@chromium.org
Labels: Cr-UI-Browser-Search-Voice

Comment #6 on issue 373923 by ligim...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

sdeming@ , could you provide us with the extension version for - Google
Voice Search Hotword (Beta)from chrome://extensions.

If you are not seeing this extension, launching chrome with the flag
--show-component-extension-options makes the extension visible.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #7 on issue 373923 by sdem...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Hi I don't see the Google Voice Search Hotword (Beta) in
chrome://extensions (I thought in 35 it wasn't going to be an extension). I
tried to add that flag as well but I don't see it as an option.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #8 on issue 373923 by som...@google.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I don't think this is related to the hotword extension since that's not
present in M34 where this seems to repro. Also the helper is called hotword
helper and not Google Chrome helper so this seems to be something else?

sdeming@, do you see either of these:
- Go to Chrome settings -> Show advanced settings... -> Privacy (do you see
a checkbox called Enable Ok Google voice search?)
- Launch Chrome with --show-component-extension-options command line flag
and check for the 'Google Voice Search Hotword (Beta)' extension under
chrome://extensions

If neither of these are present, this is not an issue related to hotwording.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #9 on issue 373923 by sdem...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Thanks. I do have checkbox Enabled for Ok Google voice search. I also
haven't been able to repro this issue since I reported it three days ago.
However, there have still been several reports in the forum from users.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #11 on issue 373923 by romulu...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I can reproduce the following behaviour: play a movie stream via flash
(f.i. twich.tv) and I have a cpu usage of 60-90% by google chrome helper.
If I play a stream with youtube (html5) or via flash in safari I only have
a cpu usage of 15%.

It happens all the time when playing movie streams with flash.

iMac 2011, 3.1 Ghz i5, Mavericks 10.9.3, current stable chrome.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #13 on issue 373923 by sdem...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

#12 I'm on 35.0.1916.114 (Official Build 270117) beta so I don't have the
hotword extension--I don't think this has to do specifically with that
extension. I haven't been able to repro this since I reported the issue.
Averaging around 7-40% CPU for Google Chrome Helper right now.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Status: Assigned
Owner: ligim...@chromium.org

Comment #14 on issue 373923 by som...@google.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

ligimole, can we try to repro based on the latest comments in the forum:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topicsearchin/chrome/CPU$20Google$20Helper%7Csort:date%7Cspell:true/chrome/LfBqIlfFoSo

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Owner: lafo...@chromium.org
Cc: i...@chromium.org
Labels: -Needs-Feedback M-37 ReleaseBlock-Beta

Comment #15 on issue 373923 by ligim...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Similar issue reported -
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=375478.

Able to reproduce this in Mac 10.9

70-100 % cpu usage for flash process when playing NBC videos
40-50 % cpu usage when playing yahoo videos

http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/episode-guide/season-6/live-top-10-performances/622
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/life-of-crime-exclusive-trailer-jennifer-aniston-86348470737.html

Flash Version : 14.0.0.95
Chrome Version : 37.0.2005.0 (Official Build 271643).

Anthony , would you mind finding an owner for this issue.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #16 on issue 373923 by pmelc...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

In case this helps: I have seen this happening mostly with Goggle
Spreadsheets tabs that have been left open for a long time and become
unresponsive. Those Google Chrome Helper processes take up all the CPU and
the Macbook Air's fan "goes wild".

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #18 on issue 373923 by bril...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I've had this problem for some time. One thing that I usually do is to
simply terminate the offending helper process. When I do that, I usually
get an error in one of the tabs, the one that says, "Aw, snap! Something
went wrong while displaying this webpage. To continue, reload or go to
another page. If you're seeing this frequently, try these suggestions." The
tab also gets an emoticon that looks like a folder with a frowny face with
x eyes. Here are sample webpages that produced the problem for me:
http://www.weatherstreet.com/states/gfsx-300-forecast.htm
http://antonholmquist.com/blog/opengl-es-2-0-ios-tutorial-getting-started/
http://www.drdobbs.com/mobile/improving-data-entry-with-ui-pickers-in/231600685?pgno=3
http://www.scrabblefinder.com/words-with-friends-cheat/

Note that loading this pages doesn't immediately show the problem. The
problem seems to generally happen after the pages have been loaded for some
time. As I write this post, for example, I've refreshed those pages after
the frowny face appeared, and CPU usage has not yet gone up.

I've also seen this happen on Chrome for Windows 7.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #19 on issue 373923 by aaron.bo...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I too have had this issue for a long while now, I find when using a flash
program ( ie: Twitch.tv or on odd occasions YouTube) The CPU% for Chrome
Helper shoots up to 100%+ usually 125 or higher resulting in my Mac book
pro heating up quite a lot as well as the fans running extremely fast
resulting in a lot of noise.

OS X 10.9.3
Chrome Version 35.0.1916.114

Screenshot One: http://puu.sh/916v5.png
List of relevant programs as well as a flash program (Twitch.tv) open
running through Safari and safari's at most using 58.1 %

Screenshot two: http://puu.sh/916hc.png
List of relevant programs as well as a flash program ( Twitch.tv) open
running through Google Chrome, Chrome however uses 122.0 % which is a
difference of 63.9.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #20 on issue 373923 by peter.ci...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Same issue. A crash report is attached. Anecdotally, I notice this most
after waking the mac up from sleeping, or switching wifi networks (which
often, but not always, involves sleep/wake).




Attachments:
chrome_100cpu_dump.txt 646 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #21 on issue 373923 by katsuomi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I'm having the same problem. I've seen most HTML5 games get very high CPU
usage for some time on Mac (So I guess this is not a Flash related issue).

And I've found this simple Canvas page brings 40% CPU usage.

(Google Chrome Helper 15% x 2 + Google Chrome 10%, on MacBook Air and
MacBook Pro Retina, Chrome 35.0.1916.114 and 37.0.2015.0 canary).

On Windows this page consumes only < 5%.

---
<!DOCTYPE html>

<canvas id="screen" width="640" height="480"></canvas>

<script>
var canvas = document.getElementById("screen");
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");

render();

function render() {
ctx.fillStyle = "#0F0";
ctx.fillRect(0, 0, 10, 10);
requestAnimationFrame(render, canvas);
}
</script>
---

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #22 on issue 373923 by taven...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Similar issues as to original report.

Chrome Version 35.0.1916.114
OS X 10.9.3 Build 13D65

Screenshot of activity monitor attached while playing a YouTube video.
The Chrome helpers seem to be taking a disproportionate amount of CPU and
running down my battery. Some testing after the screenshot showed that
other helpers were for Google Docs that were open but not being displayed
or edited as well as drupal edit windows (open but not being displayed or
actively edited). As I'm writing this report, the helpers have settled
down considerably with the amount of CPU they are using, with most being
under 1.5% (which is what I would expect). Re-opening the Google docs and
re-starting YouTube now does NOT seem to cause the sustained spike in CPU
load that I saw at the beginning of the report, so I can see why it is
difficult to reproduce. Perhaps it is unnecessary rendering being done
when windows are obscured but a foreground window is being manipulated?

I suspect this same issue caused my Mac to not be able to shutdown when
hitting the power button a couple of days ago as all the Google Chrome
Helper processes were taking up the CPU and causing cycle starvation to the
other applications as they tried to do the standard "save your work"
warnings. Had to long press my Mac power button. I could not get any
useful information from that sessions to share. Sorry.

Attachments:
Screen Shot 2014-05-31 at 3.33.44 PM.png 445 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #23 on issue 373923 by builder...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Chrome Version 36.0.1985.32 beta
OS X 10.9.3

In the full version of chrome close to 100% CPU I installed the latest beta
version Chrome.
Symptoms are the same in the latest beta version.

CSS3 animation effects applied to the page when working close to 100% CPU.

Attachments:
chrome.tiff 637 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #24 on issue 373923 by builder...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

MacBook Pro 15" Late 2013

Chrome Version 36.0.1985.32 beta
OS X 10.9.3

In the full version of chrome close to 100% CPU I installed the latest beta
version Chrome.
Symptoms are the same in the latest beta version.

CSS3 animation effects applied to the page when working close to 100% CPU.

Note that the same test revealed that page open in Safari works fast and
CPU usage is also very low.

Attachments:
chrome.png 341 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Status: Untriaged
Owner: ---

Comment #25 on issue 373923 by d...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

(No comment was entered for this change.)

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Status: Assigned
Owner: sdem...@chromium.org

Comment #26 on issue 373923 by d...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

can we get a snapshot of the chrome taskmanager? This will help us further
triage which process in chrome is taking up a lot of cpu time.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #27 on issue 373923 by sdem...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

OK, will do next time it happens---it happens inconsistently for me but did
happen yesterday

If others could post a screenshot of your Chrome task manager, that would
likely be helpful. You can find this by clicking on the Chrome Menu > Tools
> Task Manager. Sort by CPU so the highest processes are at the top and
then post your screenshot here.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #28 on issue 373923 by sdem...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Attached is a screenshot from a user as well as a screenshot from my
computer.

Attachments:
Screen Shot 2014-06-08 at 10.31.53 PM.png 212 KB
Screen Shot 2014-06-08 at 17.49.30.png 108 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #29 on issue 373923 by sdem...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Also now it says "Google Chrome Helper EH"

Attachments:
Screen Shot 2014-06-08 at 11.02.33 PM.png 148 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #30 on issue 373923 by jason.mi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I'm also seeing this issue after updating OSX.

Chrome: 35.0.1916.114
OS X: 10.9.3

The effected tab is not running any video but is my company's webapp, built
using Meteor js.

Attachments:
Screen Shot 2014-06-09 at 10.05.26 AM.png 357 KB
Screen Shot 2014-06-09 at 10.05.34 AM.png 83.1 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #31 on issue 373923 by jason.mi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

This is really a huge issue for me, I love Chrome as my test browser, but
every time I redeploy I have to kill the chrome helper process for the tab
to become responsive again.

Any news on progress on this issue?

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Owner: d...@chromium.org

Comment #32 on issue 373923 by melody...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

assigning back to Daniel as the requested screenshots have been provided -
please let us know if you need anything else from us.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Status: Untriaged
Owner: ---

Labels: -M-37 -ReleaseBlock-Beta

Comment #33 on issue 373923 by d...@google.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

(No comment was entered for this change.)

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #39 on issue 373923 by tony.l...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I have had to totally give up on Chrome until this is fixed.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #42 on issue 373923 by d...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

if you can provide a reduced testcase that will be awesome so we can narrow
down where the issue is.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #44 on issue 373923 by foo....@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Steps to reproduce this problem:

OSX Version 10.9.3

(1) Install Chromecast extension. [Disabled all other chrome extensions]
(2) Screencast any video

Problem:

Notice that in Activity monitor Google Chrome helper usage keeps increase

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #46 on issue 373923 by meganken...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I gave up on Chrome some time ago due to this issue and swapped to Firefox,
but started experiencing lag and over 100% CPU usage there as well. Swapped
again to Safari, which kept showing its Flash process taking up over 100%
CPU too. No way to escape this problem.

I'd done a lot of searching on Chrome and Firefox troubleshooting threads,
but just tried searching for the issue relating to Safari, and finally
found a solution that worked for me. Someone advised archiving and then
deleting the ~Library/Google/ folder, saying they'd discovered their Safari
lag problem was originating from this directory and deleting it solved the
issue for them.

I just deleted it, and now have Chrome, Firefox, and Safari all happily
running at once without my fan going berserk, when before just one of them
running would be setting it off. No idea why this was the solution for me,
but adding it here in case it's helpful to someone else.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #47 on issue 373923 by Pedr...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I did it, deleted "~Library/Google/" folder, but nothing changed.
:/

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #48 on issue 373923 by andrew.c...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I see this issue also, but on my Mac it appears be related to the Kapersky
URL Advisor extension. When I turn of the URL Advisor extension the CPU
immediately goes back down. I reinstalled KIS but this did not fix the
problem.

OSX 10.9.3
MacBook Air 2013 (early)
KIS 14.0.1.46a.b.c

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #49 on issue 373923 by andrew.c...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I see this issue also, but on my Mac it appears be related to the Kapersky

URL Advisor extension. When I turn off the URL Advisor extension the CPU

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #50 on issue 373923 by basaka.c...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

still same for chrome 35.0.1916.153

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #51 on issue 373923 by ltg3...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I've been having this issue for quite some time.

Sarah - note that I am still on Lion, so this issue is not limited to
Mountain Lion and Mavericks.

I have finally relented and removed my last 2 extensions and it continues
to occur. As much as I love Chrome, I'm not sure how much longer I can
continue to burn my CPU.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #53 on issue 373923 by juretrig...@juretriglav.si: Google Chrome

Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Could this be the cause for a part of these reports?
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=392651

I'm seeing 100% CPU usage after leaving my WebRTC-based extension running
for a while (traces and minimal replication attached).

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #54 on issue 373923 by raminaz...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I've been searching around trying to find a fix for this for at least a
year now. Unfortunately, since google doesn't seem to be motivated enough
to fix the problem, I'm done using Chrome and switching to Safari.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #55 on issue 373923 by pink...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

(deleted comment provides no useful information)

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #56 on issue 373923 by Pedr...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Well well well.
Looks that Andrew discovered the problem.

I also disabled the Kaspersky extentions and, voilá, fans fixed at 2.000
RPM.

Thanks dude!

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #57 on issue 373923 by st.se...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

The issue is not limited to extensions.
Pepper flash seems unoptimized on OSX, if you disable it, you can save ~10C
degrees (chrome://plugins, use Adobe Flash instead). The second issue is
even HTML5. Chromes native Blink engine does not do a good job at rendering
any media. For example, Safari's Webkit engine Handles HTML5 really well,
1080p streams sit around the 50-54C mark on a MacBook Pro Retina 13"
(i7/16GB, late 2013), however switching over to Chrome - Blink engine, same
video, same settings, same resolution, HTML5 - the thermals are sitting
around the 70-80C mark. The "Chrome Helper" task consumes the most CPU time.

If you renice the task (change priority) - video stutters, this, to me,
signals that there is sever nonoptimisation of the Blink engine on OSX.
This could be that the compiler that is used is gcc rather than the clang
compiler that is mostly used on OSX, or that there is some hardware
abstraction going on, meaning that chrome has to offload video playback to
the CPU rather than having it offloaded to the GPU.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #60 on issue 373923 by chas.new...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I have this too. It is intermittent. I suspect it is due to one of the
websites open in a tab. I'll try breaking out all my tabs into windows
then gradually kill them until the helper calms down then report back.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #61 on issue 373923 by chas.new...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

It seems to be facebook. I had it open in several tabs in different
windows. Within a minute or so of killing those tabs the helper
disappeared and my fans slowed back down to a whisper. To verify I started
three copies of facebook on two existing windows and one new one... CPU
immediately ramped up, killed again, ramped back down. Can someone else
confirm this theory?

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #62 on issue 373923 by ndun...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

my cpu is burning up (50% on Mavericks) and its not doing anything. I have
to quite chrome and restart. Otherwise very snappy performance.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #63 on issue 373923 by christop...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

http://snapplr.com/69cf

More evidence of this in the above screenshot. In task manager, the CPU
load seems to spike.. so it's not consistent. I have ~10 tabs open. 2
Google Docs, 1 Youtube, the rest are just basic text, Wikipedia, etc. I
don't have Facebook open, as others claim to be the problem.

Active extensions: AdBlockPlus, FreshStart, Google Cast, Google Docs,
JSBeautify, PrettyPrint

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #64 on issue 373923 by jonny.y....@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

For everyone here that is getting hit and miss "results" trying to
duplicate this issue ... I am a web developer and the issue is totally
caused by "movement", be it a JS slideshow, or Flash.

To reproduce the issue try this: open Activity Monitor, pull it off to one
side of your screen. Open Chrome, pull it off to the other side of your
screen. You should be able to see both now. Go to any page with a slider or
Flash. Note the CPU usage spike associated with the Google Chrome Helper
process. If you are looking at a slider, and it has a pause button, pause
it and notice that the CPU usage goes back down. For comparison's sake, go
to a standard static page that just has text, like a wikipedia page, and
note that everything is fine.

Google, why haven't you fixed this yet, or at the very least owned up to it
here on the forums? This is a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR bug, this is not just an
annoyance. If this is your way of getting back at Apple for something, I
suggest you reconsider your tactics.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #65 on issue 373923 by maxx...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Comment #64 is 100% correct! This is a major bug that must be fixed ASAP.
When Chrome only works with simple static pages, it will lose its edge as
the "go to" browser for folks who keep lots of interesting and active tabs
open all the time.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #66 on issue 373923 by theb...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Why blame Google and the Chrome developers for what's clearly a problem
with Adobe Flash? Flash is an old, tired, buggy technology that should just
go away. Steve Jobs was right to ban it from iOS devices.

Just do a google search on Adobe Flash and buggy, and get volumes of
information about it.

I'm not going to defend Chrome for its own problems, but this isn't one of
them.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #67 on issue 373923 by photocyb...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

@66 Because this doesn't happen on Safari, thats a plain enough reason
isn't it?

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #68 on issue 373923 by jax...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

This is not isolated to Flash. I have Flash completely disabled and
Youtube's HTML5 player, Google+ Photos, and even sites with animated GIFs,
spin my fans up to an enormously loud level. None of these issues arise in
FF or Safari.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #69 on issue 373923 by maxx...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Or on Firefox. Or Opera. It's only Chrome. Nor is it only Flash,
either. Any site with lots of video and movement, regardless of
originating program, causes this unacceptable behavior in Chrome on Mac.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #70 on issue 373923 by photocyb...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

@64 - Sadly my CPU stays crazy even when video ends or I pause. And god
forbid I open 8 or 10 tabs of youtube sometime! Then the real circus starts.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #71 on issue 373923 by theb...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

OK, fair enough (on the same thing not happening in Safari or Firefox). My
experience is different. I've seen this runaway CPU usage in all my
browsers, and rarely is the cause not related to Flash. I've got flash
blocker extensions installed, and they do help.

Additionally, once the runaway CPU thing takes hold, killing the process is
the only solution. I can do that in Activity Monitor, the terminal, or just
quitting the browser. It's exceedingly annoying, but there it is.

Can someone point me at any HTML5 that causes this in Chrome and not Safari
or Firefox? That would be interesting. Or some javascript, or animated
gifs. Show me, and that would be beneficial to all. I am not seeing it,
except with Flash. I clearly don't visit the sites you do.

Thanks

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #72 on issue 373923 by jax...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

@71 Happens to me on Youtube, for one. Also, Google+ Photos, especially
when gifs are on the screen.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #73 on issue 373923 by theb...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I just tried all the example URLs in this thread, and was only able to
reproduce the problem on one:
http://www.drdobbs.com/mobile/improving-data-entry-with-ui-pickers-in/231600685?pgno=3
The !00% CPU happened when playing a Flash video.

Given the obvious intelligence in this thread <NOT SARCASM!!> I defer to
your judgement.

I am using Ad Blocker, Flash Control, and Ghostery extensions, which might
be playing a beneficial role. I have other extensions installed too, but I
don't think they're related.

Chrome version: 37.0.2062.58 beta

Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because my mostly good luck with Chrome
might be luck.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #74 on issue 373923 by katsuomi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

This is definitely not a Flash problem, I think. This high CPU usage issue
also occurs on ALL HTML5 CANVAS GAMES on my clean installed OS X Mavericks
10.9.4 and Chrome Canary 38.0.2111.0 (with no extensions, of course). I
suspect something wrong is happening in Chrome's rendering pass...

Here is my demo which uses only HTML5 canvas.
http://framesynthesis.com/games/html5shooter/
This program simply renders sprites and use requestAnimationFrame for the
game loop.

And Chrome's processes become like this:

- Google Chrome Helper 55%
- Google Chrome Helper 30%
- Google Chrome 20%

On Windows this page only consumes total 8% CPU usage. 105% vs 8%!
Obviously something abnormal is happening.

Furthermore, I can see the same result on famous HTML5 frameworks such as
CreateJS and Phaser game engine.

Phaser Examples
http://examples.phaser.io/
EaselJS | A Javascript library that makes working with the HTML5 Canvas
element easy.
http://www.createjs.com/#!/EaselJS/demos

Chrome for Mac have been completely useless for HTML5 games for almost a
year because of this bug. In fact, this issue is one of the reasons I
stopped developing HTML5 games. Probably there might be some complicated
factors, but if this issue is underrated because people misunderstand this
is a notorious Flash related problem, that's very sad.

And my question is, what the "Google Chrome Helper" processes are doing?
Those are Chrome's processes. Not Adobe's.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #75 on issue 373923 by theb...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

http://framesynthesis.com/games/html5shooter/ uses 12% CPU

http://examples.phaser.io/ 15% CPU when playing Invaders

http://www.createjs.com/#!/EaselJS/demos 11% CPU when playing Space Rocks

OS X 10.9.4 on a 2010 MacBook Pro with 8 gigs of RAM.

I have 18 tabs open in one Chrome window and 3 in a second window.

I've got a number of other apps running including iBooks, Numbers,
OmniFocus, Airmail Beta, Bookmacster, Preview, BBEdit, Keyboard Maestro,
Messages, DevonThink Pro Office, Dash, PyCharm.

This is a puzzle. I do NOT see runaway CPU with these web sites.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #76 on issue 373923 by jax...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Can we also post exactly what hardware we're using, in addition to sites
that cause CPU spikes?

I have this problem on my 13" rMBP, and so does my friend. No issues on the
15", though. The 13" has no discrete graphics card, and this problem only
occurs for me when a GPU operation occurs, i.e. CSS transitions on Google+
Stories, HTML5 videos on Youtube, etc.

Perhaps that is relevant. But I'm starting to really suspect this thread is
full of about 4 different problems people have.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #77 on issue 373923 by katsuomi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

The problem (#74) occurs on my 2 Macs.

- MacBook Pro Retina (15-inch Retina Late 2013) / Core i7-4850HQ 2300 MHz /
GeForce GT 750M
- MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2011) / Core i5-2557M 1.7GHz / Intel HD Graphics
3000

Tested bear Chrome stable and Canary right after Mavericks clean install.
I would take a video next time I clean install OS X.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #78 on issue 373923 by Felipe51...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

My Mac is affected by the same issue - "Google Chrome Helper with high CPU
usage of 100%"
Solution (At the time of this writing)

I performed an update of Java to: "Java 7 Update 65"

Then go to:
Apple Menu > System Preferences > Java > Security >
[Activate] "Enable Java content in the broser"
Set the "Security Level" to "Medium"
click [OK]


Verify the Apple "Activity Monitor", in case you have a process
named "remoting_me2me_host"
Uninstal the app "Chrome Remote Desktop"


Then Download and Install "Chrome Canary"
>> at time of writing is version: "38.0.2111.0 canary (64-bit)"

For the sake of testing I increased de ussage of the browser by 3 or 4
times and No problem so far!

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #80 on issue 373923 by to...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

It seems like various commenters may actually be experiencing different
issues.

Usually a chrome trace allows us to diagnose issues like this. Could
someone who can reproduce a high CPU utilization please attach a trace to
the bug? Instructions:
http://www.chromium.org/developers/how-tos/trace-event-profiling-tool/recording-tracing-runs

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #81 on issue 373923 by colin.pa...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Here are two traces causing severe ui lag due to this thread:

1. trace.json = scrolling through Facebook feed

2. trace(1).json = watching netflix

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #82 on issue 373923 by colin.pa...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Every time i try to attach traces the POST request times out.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #85 on issue 373923 by colin.pa...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Im running chrome 36 on my late 2013 rmbp

Here are two traces that cause severe UI lag:

1. Watching netflix:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2jL0kuHbG20X2pPUGFLa2xXRzA/edit?usp=sharing

2. Scrolling facebook feed:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2jL0kuHbG20MVA4UDJJdVhRY1E/edit?usp=sharing

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Labels: Cr-Internals-Plugins-Flash

Comment #88 on issue 373923 by to...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

re: #c83 Thanks, laczkovszki. The trace and activity monitor line up and
confirm that the vast majority of the CPU utilization goes to the Flash
process and is spent in the hexball.com Flash application's code. The
problem is that the app produces frames at 60FPS even though the screen is
only updating at about 1FPS. Firefox and Safari both behave the same on my
MacBook Pro.

Flash folks, I know we can never fully prevent a bad app from DOSing the
user. But is there anything we can do to mitigate the frame overproduction
problem? It seems fairly common.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #89 on issue 373923 by erik...@google.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Does flash still produce 60fps if the tab is in the background and no
frames are needed at all?

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #91 on issue 373923 by colin.pa...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

UI lag was just a side effect, I'm getting really high (>85%) CPU
utilization for both those traces.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #92 on issue 373923 by katsuomi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Thank you for taking a look. I was a bit late but here is my trace.

- MacBook Pro Retina (15-inch Late 2013)
- OS X 10.9.4
- Chrome Canary 38.0.2125.0 (with no extensions and all plug-ins disabled)

Opened this html (commented at #21)

---
<!DOCTYPE html>

<canvas id="screen" width="640" height="480"></canvas>

<script>
var canvas = document.getElementById("screen");
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");

render();

function render() {
ctx.fillStyle = "#0F0";
ctx.fillRect(0, 0, 10, 10);
requestAnimationFrame(render, canvas);
}
</script>
---

This page consumes 40% CPU usage (as the screenshot attached). On Windows
this page consumes only 5%.

And please note that this example does not use Flash at all. All plug-ins
are disabled. My sample uses only a few canvas operations and
requestAnimationFrame.

You added the Cr-Internals-Plugins-Flash label, but several people have
pointed out that this issue is not limited to Flash. Please read comment
#64, #68, #74 and others. I agree comment #64 this issue is cause by
any "movement".

> I am a web developer and the issue is totally caused by "movement", be it
> a JS slideshow, or Flash.

Attachments:
monitor.png 307 KB
trace.zip 1.2 MB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #93 on issue 373923 by jax...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

#92, I think your issues are related to this, not the flash issue:
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?can=2&start=0&num=100&q=&colspec=ID%20Pri%20M%20Iteration%20ReleaseBlock%20Cr%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20OS%20Modified&groupby=&sort=&id=399960

There are a lot of different problems reported in this bug report, I think
this one is focusing towards Flash.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #94 on issue 373923 by katsuomi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Thank you for letting me know. I've starred the issue 399960.

But I suspect these issues are the same problem. If this issue (373923) is
caused by Chrome itself and developers think this is Flash's
responsibility, it will never solved.

I feel Chrome on Mac has the CPU usage problem on all rendering operations.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #95 on issue 373923 by t...@toddmotto.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

First hangout on my new MacBook Pro (two weeks old as of this post),
running OS X 10.9.4, Chrome 36.0.1985.143. Processor is a quad core 2.5GHz
Intel i7, so wasn't expecting any CPU hits, but first hangout was
over-clocking over 300% for Chrome in total, included screenshot.

Attachments:
Screen Shot 2014-08-19 at 10.33.10.png 147 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #96 on issue 373923 by pink...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

We don't need screenshots, we need process samples from activity monitor.
Please provide those, and not screenshots of CPU %.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #97 on issue 373923 by jimbake...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Here is a process sample of Google Chrome Helper using about 70% CPU with
only one tab open and nothing much happening. (I had just closed 10 other
tabs).

At the time there were also many other instances of Google Chrome Helper
(Not Responding).

[OS X Yosemite, Macbook Pro 2.4GHz, Chrome Canary.]

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #98 on issue 373923 by jimbake...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Process sample

Attachments:
Sample of Google Chrome Helper.txt 603 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #99 on issue 373923 by pink...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Here's the symbolicated stack of comment 98. It's all in blink layout. Jim,
what URL was this from?

Attachments:
sample.txt 774 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #100 on issue 373923 by jimbake...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I think the URL was probably this page. Sorry, I was concentrating on
Activity Monitor.

I will do another one next time I see one Helper using a lot of CPU with
only one active tab and note the URL. Is there anything further it would
also be useful to check on when that happens?

It might be worth noting that having reloaded Chrome, and with only this
tab open, there are 15-20 active Chrome Helper Applications listed in
Activity Monitor, although they are not currently using any significant CPU
time.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #101 on issue 373923 by pink...@chromium.org: Google Chrome

Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

You probably have a lot of extensions installed, which could also be
contributing to the high CPU usage. One poorly written extension can upset
the apple cart. It might be helpful when trying to track this down if you
disable all your extensions and see if the high CPU continues.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #102 on issue 373923 by jax...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I don't think it's related to extensions; I have the same issue with no
extensions enabled. I believe it's strongly related to the GPU handling on
Macbooks without discrete graphics processors:
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?can=2&start=0&num=100&q=&colspec=ID%20Pri%20M%20Iteration%20ReleaseBlock%20Cr%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20OS%20Modified&groupby=&sort=&id=399960

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #103 on issue 373923 by jimbake...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I do have some extensions installed and will try what you suggest.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #104 on issue 373923 by katsuomi...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

On my Macs, looks like the problem is not GPU bound. Both MacBook Air and
MacBook Pro Retina have the problem.

And if I remember correctly, this problem started last year suddenly. I
noticed all HTML5 Canvas games became battery drainer. At that time I
thought it was a temporary glitch, but the problem has continued until now.

If this helps, here are my process samples of comment #92. These are by
Chrome Canary with no extensions and plug-ins.


Attachments:
Samples.zip 172 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #106 on issue 373923 by jasji...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Same issue here, late 2013 Macbook Air. All plugins disabled. CPU usage on
Chrome and Google Chrome Helper processes is massive when scrolling or
playing a video. Interestingly though, this problem only started a couple
days ago. Before that I could go almost 14 hours of browsing. Now I'm down
to 6-7 hours.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #107 on issue 373923 by peterpa...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Same issue here. Macbook Pro w/Retina, updated to Yosemite beta 10.10
(14A329r). Fans get really loud and I know Chrome will be choking on out of
control proceses. For me it only happens with the Yosemite beta, have not
seen this with 10.9.

Attachments:
Screen Shot 2014-08-26 at 10.13.28 AM.png 519 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #108 on issue 373923 by Brenner....@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Just chiming in that I'm having the same issue with late 2013 MacBook Pro
Retina 13". I have a single tab open now and Chrome Helper is already at
53% CPU usage. It's typically 85-90% or higher and I've seen it peak above
100% somehow.

OS X 10.9.4
Chrome 7.0.2062.94

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #111 on issue 373923 by pink...@chromium.org: Google Chrome

Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Folks, please stop posting screenshots without any accompanying URLs or
process samples. They are 200% useless for us to track down the issue you
are having.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #113 on issue 373923 by dapatt...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Just as Felipe51 stated: How do I find the process sample?

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #114 on issue 373923 by pink...@chromium.org: Google Chrome

Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

In the Activity Monitor, select the offending process and from the gear
menu in the toolbar, select "Sample Process". Save that to a text file and
attach it. Also tell us what URL this process represents (you can find that
info with the Task Manager within Chrome).

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #115 on issue 373923 by jax...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I have some related process samples here, if anyone is curious what they
look like:

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=399960#c7

Also, I think this issue thread is split between people with the issue I
reported above, and people with Flash player issues. Not sure though.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #116 on issue 373923 by h.zabar...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

I recently had the same problem, I've attached the process sample.

Attachments:
Chrome_Sample.txt 80.8 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #117 on issue 373923 by h.zabar...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Here's another process sample

Attachments:
chrome_sample2.txt 116 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #118 on issue 373923 by michaela...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Another process sample.

2013 MacBook Pro Retina 15
Software OS X 10.9.4 (13E28)
Processor 2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel Iris Pro


Attachments:
chrome_37.0.2062.94_process_sample.txt 269 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #119 on issue 373923 by m...@tribalvibes.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Here's more grist. This is destroying usability for Chrome and my mbp. Hope
these observations help you track it down:

General
1. MBP 8,2 15" quadcore i7 late 2011, ssd, 16gb, 25% avail (for this
test--not paging), AMD Radeon HD 6770M 1024 MB
2. This seems to have started a year ago or so? And getting progressively
worse.
3. Used to keep 200++ tabs and 50+ windows open in Chrome-20 something with
sess buddy. Now dawgs out at 50 tabs and a dozen windows.
4. Not specifically a flash-related video playback issue. Restoring windows
with lots of tabs will do it too, as will HTML5 video.
5. One major version around Chrome 28-ish or maybe it was 32 suddenly was
much better--fast and smooth the way it should run. Could restore dozens of
tabs in a few seconds.
6. Installed Canary (yea!) Seemed better for 24 hours, then recurred.
These tests are with Canary. Similar results with 32 bit Chrome.
7. Wild guess #1: interprocess coms, semaphore, mutex, work or msg queue
lock issue, thread sync, something falling back to a spin lock and starving
while other queues are overstuffed holding the locks
8. Wild guess #2: bad Darwin interaction, timer/wakeup/yield issue,
something should be scheduled on a usec timer but is being scheduled on a
msec timer, debug trace not removed in production build.
9. Wild guess #3: Network request queue interaction. GPU interaction.

Test 1 Video Playback
1. Plugins disabed. Specifically, flash disabled and Shockwave Flash
process killed in Task Manager. Screenshot 1.
2. Play a video. Lets say, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqfIvPQ8Dgo
3. Watch CPU spike to 100%. loadav > 12. Screenshot 3.
4. kernel_task > 500% Google Helper (Canary) > 50% Screenshot 4. Samples
1 & 2.
5. Poor video performance and system responsiveness destroyed.
6. Pause video, keep tab open. CPU usage drops to ~33% and remains bursty.
Screenshot 6. System may return to quiescent state after ten minutes or
more. Suggests timer/msg queue issue.
7. Close video tab. System returns to quiescent state within ten seconds.
Screenshot 7.

Test 2 Restore Multiple Tabs
8. Open a window with a dozen or more tabs. Say, API docs like
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/reference/v2.1/object/likes
and cmd-right-click a bunch of related pages. Screenshot 8.
9. Close window. Cmd-shift-t reopen tabs.
10. kernel_task > 300% and Google Chrome main task > 50%. Screenshot 10.
Sample 3.
11. Watch it spin. Screenshot 11.
12. Takes more than 30 seconds to restore a dozen comparatively simple
pages already cached. Screenshot 12.

System response with Chrome running (even quiescent) is notably sluggish.
Typeahead and app context switching delay, beach ball, etc.



Attachments:
Sample of Canary 39.0.2149.0 Google Chrome Helper 1 play youtube html5
video.txt 657 KB
Sample of Canary 39.0.2149.0 Google Chrome Helper 2 play youtube html5
video.txt 613 KB
Sample of Canary 39.0.2149.0 Google Chrome 3 restore tabs.txt 759 KB
1 plugins Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 4.53.47 PM.png 219 KB
2 play vid Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 4.35.29 PM (2).png 1.1 MB
3 play video Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 5.39.12 PM.png 112 KB
4 activity mon Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 4.36.39 PM.png 103 KB
6 pause video Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 5.33.58 PM.png 120 KB
7 close video tab Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 5.36.17 PM.png 131 KB
8 restore a bunch of tabs Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 5.59.04 PM.png 214 KB
10 restoring tabs Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 5.57.44 PM.png 103 KB
11 restore a dozen tabs Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 6.03.03 PM.png 67.0 KB
12 restore tabs cpu usage Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 6.03.22 PM.png 102 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Cc: aio...@chromium.org jer...@chromium.org

Comment #120 on issue 373923 by to...@chromium.org: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

#c119 "test 1": Does this only happen w/ many tabs open or does it happen
w/ a single tab playing video too?

#c119 "test 2": Issue 128035 should fix the perf problems while restoring
many tabs.

Here're the top symbols from the sample dumps in #c116, #117, #118:

Sort by top of stack, same collapsed (when >= 5):
semaphore_wait_trap (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 8500
__psynch_cvwait (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 4187
kevent (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 2125
kevent64 (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 2125
??? (in <unknown binary>) [0x26c78164] [STACK TOP] 46

Sort by top of stack, same collapsed (when >= 5):
__psynch_cvwait (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 43301
mach_msg_trap (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 13658
kevent (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 7685
__read (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 1982
__select (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 1975
kevent64 (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 1971
__workq_kernreturn (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 1969
_platform_memmove$VARIANT$sse42 (in libsystem_platform.dylib)

Sort by top of stack, same collapsed (when >= 5):
semaphore_wait_trap (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 8500
__psynch_cvwait (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 4206
kevent (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 2125
kevent64 (in libsystem_kernel.dylib) 2125
??? (in <unknown binary>) [0x5481abb4] [STACK TOP] 360

pinkerton@, maybe the sample dumps tell you something, but they don't help
me much. I'm interested in seeing chrome traces taken from users while CPU
usage is 100%. See #c80 for instructions. Anyone hitting this, please
attach more of those :)

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #123 on issue 373923 by m...@tribalvibes.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

@tonyg: I'll see about generating some traces for you. Is there a way to
identify what version of Chrome was released/current on April 27, 2014 and
to revert to that version? It seems there was a window where all of the
sudden performance got really good (i.e., normal for a quadcore
hyperthreaded i7).

I haven't looked at the code at all, so those guesses are just that. But
from those stack snapshots, it looks like there are some locking/messaging
dynamics going on, not merely code execution speed.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #124 on issue 373923 by je...@decisionsondemand.com: Google Chrome

Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Here is a sample of a helper process that was fluctuating between 25 and
50% CPU for no apparent reason -- there's nothing obviously complex on the
page, and the tab was not even visible.

URL:
http://www.insightsquared.com/2012/10/dont-incentivize-sales-activities/

I see this quite often when tabs are open for a while -- after some time
they start ramping up their CPU consumption , without obvious triggering
event. It happens with Google Docs quite a bit, but also other pages like
the one above

Attachments:
Sample of Google Chrome Helper.txt 394 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #126 on issue 373923 by je...@decisionsondemand.com: Google Chrome

Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

@tonyg: re #124: it may take significantly more than 10 mins for the issue
to show up. Unfortunately I don't know what the trigger is, nor do I have
an easily reproducible scenario. But I'll post more traces if I come across
the issue again

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #130 on issue 373923 by pink...@chromium.org: Google Chrome

Helper Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

The high-cpu usage with WebRTC hangouts should be discussed further in
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=413916.

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #133 on issue 373923 by jge...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Attached a dump taken when the main browser process was bouncing between 45
and 90% CPU for an extended period. Bunch of tabs open, but nothing that
would clearly need a lot of CPU.

Attachments:
Sample of Google Chrome-main process.txt 351 KB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #134 on issue 373923 by jge...@gmail.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

Two more dumps:
- one when editing a very simple Google Doc
- the other a minute or so after restarting Chrome, with only the Google
main page showing

Both times at 50%+ CPU with very little active work happening

Attachments:
Sample of Google Chrome-Google Docs.txt 265 KB
Sample of Google Chrome-startup.txt 1.1 MB

[chro...@googlecode.com]

Comment #135 on issue 373923 by m...@tribalvibes.com: Google Chrome Helper

Process Taking up >100% CPU on Macs
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=373923

tonyg@:

I've sent you a full set of traces. Re: #c119, #c120: the traces were done
after a fresh restart with nothing running and the system as quiescent as
possible. Each trace was with a separate restart and launch (Canary.) Even
a single tab HTML5 video play could cause the high CPU state, which is what
these traces show. It was not 100% deterministic (i.e. some attempts played
normally with low CPU--trace of this included too) but easily reproducible
on multiple attempts. Same for the multitab reload.

Thus far I've had to resort to keeping Chrome under ~50 tabs to avoid
locking up the system unusably and even with 50 tabs it still gets into a
locked state for periods of time. But this shows it can happen with a
single tab or single window restore of tabs as well.

Let me know if I could provide any other info or what you think the
solution is.