Chrome browser GPU usage

[P5-133XL]

I'm annoyed. Apparently Chrome has decided to push out a new version (Version 24.0.1312.5 beta-m) that uses GPU processing all the time rather than just using flash. I tried disabling all GPU usage in the about: flags but it doesn't work. I need to pause my primary GPU before using the browser all the time rather than just a predictable sometimes.

[Jesse_V]

Yep. I saw this on my RSS reader: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2012/11/long ... bsite.html
Yet another instance of a company assuming that the GPU is idle...

[bollix47]

I tried disabling all GPU usage in the about: flags but it doesn't work.

Have you tried:

Turning Off GPU Acceleration In Google Chrome

or does that amount to the same thing?

[P5-133XL]

Same thing, just adding parameters to the shortcut instead of changing the actual setting inside Chrome.

[bruce]

Register your complaint with Chrome. It's not something that FAH can do anything about.

Your Operating System schedules work for the CPU and it understands the concept of priority. The same amount of Chrome work (when scheduled as a high priority task for the CPU) will always be faster on the CPU PROVIDED BOTH ARE BUSY. Your OS is smart enough to schedule high priority work before low priority work.

The GPU has no concept of priority. The same amount of Chrome work will be faster on the GPU only when the GPU is Idle (or when BOTH ARE OTHERWISE IDLE). Having Chrome wait until FAH finishes what it's doing makes no sense but that's what happens when everything is First-Come-First Served rather than recognizing that Chrome needs priority scheduling.

Allowing you to use the CPU instead of the GPU let's you decide if a high priority CPU task is better that a non-prioritized GPU task in your environment.

[P5-133XL]

Adding --disable-gpu to your chrome browser shortcut seems to help a lot.

[dawhippersnapper]

I've had this problem too, I get horrible GPU PPD if I leave chrome open when I leave the computer. I'll try the disable-gpu in a bit. I'm on the dev channel so there's no telling what features are working or not working at any given point.

[artoar_11]

Adding --disable-gpu to your chrome browser shortcut seems to help a lot.

On my computer in the office, lag was unbearable. In You Tube, sites with more advertising mostly.

Now by adding --disable-gpu to my Chrome Browser shortcut, lag is very small

Thank you P5-133XL

[bruce]

(Not Chrome, but Google toolbar, so only partly off-topic.)

Not only does Google spy on you, they are insensitive to performance killing apps. It also helps browser performance to keep unchecking the opt-out installation option that seem to appear everywhere and to keep removing the Google toolbar (and others) when one of them does get installed. If you don't use a particular toolbar, why are you running it?

[P5-133XL]

Thanks you P5-133XL

The person to thank is: Staniol. I just tried his suggestion and since it worked for me, I posted it here where it would be much easier to find.

[artoar_11]

Today I noticed that Google Chrome lag, is back with p7623. I found that the browser been updated with a new version. In the shortcut the added from me "-- disable-gpu" is removed.

After each update must be added "-- disable-gpu"?

Thank to Staniol

[Staniol]

You're welcome. I just had the same problem and was looking for a solution. Adding parameters shown on the page mentioned earlier didn't work for me. It disabled some but not all of Chrome hardware accelerated functions. Fortunately, Google Chrome developers team have given us the possibility to turn them off all at once by adding one parameter:

Code: Select all

--disable-gpu

You can then open Google Chrome and go to a special page to verify GPU usage:

Code: Select all

chrome://gpu

You should have all marked in red as "Unavailable". Without the parameter some (if not all) would have green status "Hardware accelerated".

I would also suggest to restore all settings changed on the flags page to default first:

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chrome://flags

I believe that the default setting makes the background gray. Of course go there only if you have changed anything before.

There is also a problem if you're using any offline functions of Google Chrome (f.ex. Gmail Offline or Google Drive offline). This is because the application keeps working even if you have closed all windows. If you change the shortcut and add parameters and then run the browser, it will start as it has no parameters added. It is because the parameters are only read with first start of Google Chrome and it hasn't been closed fully. For the parameter to be read in such situation find the Google Chrome icon in the system tray, right-click on it and choose "Close". Then double-click on your shortcut with parameters and they will be acknowledged by application.

As for removing the parameter with auto-updating of Google Chrome I've done a simple workaround. I've created a copy of Google Chrome link and called it "Google Chrome no GPU" and added the parameter there. This shortcut is immune to updates. However it may be a disadvantage of having two shortcuts on your desktop.

[bruce]

There is also a problem if you're using any offline functions of Google Chrome (f.ex. Gmail Offline or Google Drive offline). This is because the application keeps working even if you have closed all windows.

In this case, does Google Chrome put a shortcut somewhere in the reboot+startup sequence that starts Gmail_Offline/Google_Drive_offline/etc. so that they work even if you don't start the browser?

[Staniol]

There is also a problem if you're using any offline functions of Google Chrome (f.ex. Gmail Offline or Google Drive offline). This is because the application keeps working even if you have closed all windows.

In this case, does Google Chrome put a shortcut somewhere in the reboot+startup sequence that starts Gmail_Offline/Google_Drive_offline/etc. so that they work even if you don't start the browser?

Unfortunately yes. There's an autostart key created in

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HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

named GoogleChromeAutoLaunch_<hex_string> pointing to

Code: Select all

"C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --no-startup-window

This means that you have to either remove this key or close Google Chrome through systray icon after each reboot. You can try to add the --disable-gpu parameter there but I think that it may be deleted with f.ex. Chrome update.

I have also checked that after running Google Chrome with --disable-gpu parameter the state on the chrome://gpu page is "Software only, hardware acceleration unavailable" written in dark green. I have written earlier that it states "Unavailable. Hardware acceleration disabled." in red which was not true. Anyway the planned effect has been reached and that's what counts.