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"google chrome helper" using too much CPU?

If you open the Activity Monitor and see that a process called "google chrome helper" is using too much CPU, here's how I fixed it:


I went to Chrome settings/content settings/Plugins and selected Click To Play for all plugins. (The default is Run Automatically.)


This fixed my problem. Now you have to click whenever you want to run a youtube video or other plugins, but it's worth it. It stops those stupid Flash ads from loading, too, so that's an extra bonus.


I'm posting this because when I had the problem, I couldn't find any solutions at all.

Posted on Nov 17, 2013 4:34 PM

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92 replies

Apr 14, 2017 6:57 AM in response to MichelPM

Hi, I am running MacOS Sierra 10.12.4. I found your post very interesting. Are you saying that if I stop using Chrome as my browser, uninstall it, and use Sierra preferentially, that I will, therefore, NOT have Chrome Helper consuming so much memory?? My basketball icon is constantly a running and a tremendous bother. If I use Sierra as my browser, will I still be able to keep my Gmail, Google Calendar, Yahoo mail tabs open on my screen at the same time? Please advise.

Apr 14, 2017 6:45 PM in response to thekidmd

thekidmd wrote:


Hi, I am running MacOS Sierra 10.12.4. I found your post very interesting. Are you saying that if I stop using Chrome as my browser, uninstall it, and use Sierra preferentially, that I will, therefore, NOT have Chrome Helper consuming so much memory?? My basketball icon is constantly a running and a tremendous bother. If I use Sierra as my browser, will I still be able to keep my Gmail, Google Calendar, Yahoo mail tabs open on my screen at the same time? Please advise.

I access gmail.com from Firefox. I've accessed gmail.


com from Safari on occasion.


I access my Google Calendar via Firefox, and Safari. It is also associated with the calendar app on my iPhone.


While I do not generally use Yahoo mail, I do have an account, and have accessed it from Firefox. My wife uses her Yahoo mail account, and generally uses Safari.


Since this is the Snow Leopard forum, and Google has stopped supporting Chrome on Snow Leopard, I'm going to make a wild guess that you are NOT running Snow Leopard. That should not matter, but there is a "Tab Pinning" feature on the more recent Safari, so if you are running El Capitan or Sierra, you can control click on the tab and pin it so that it cannot be accidentally closed. I have a bunch of Safari and Firefox tabs pinned, including some of the discussions.apple.com forums.

Jun 18, 2017 7:26 AM in response to DJWillis

Hi!

Chrome by default uses VP8 / VP9 codecs, while loading the CPU. The use of VP8 / VP9 reduces the download time of video, but with it loads the CPU and as a consequence, the battery life of mobile devices is reduced.
What to do? For Chrome, there is a solution - use the h264ify extension (h264ify - Chrome Web Store). This extension prohibits Chrome from using VP8 / VP9 and forces you to use H.264. How Safari does it...

Jun 29, 2017 10:26 AM in response to victorfromlowell

Honestly, it is of my own personal opinion as a mac user and ex-Apple-genius that you should simply use another browser if you plan on having a ton of tabs open. Chrome is great and has tons of really cool features. But do you NEED all those features on every tab that is up and running? No, you don't.
Use Chrome for that one or two websites that you like it on and then open safari for everything else.

Sep 4, 2017 10:50 AM in response to ascii

Hello,

I am having the same issue, but I do not see the "Plugins" section. I am running Chrome 2017.

I see content settings under Privacy and Security in the advanced settings, but no Plugins.

Would appreciate clarification.

I know how to turn the helper off each time but it keeps happening and would like to turn it off permanently.

Thank you

"google chrome helper" using too much CPU?

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