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Thread: Firefox hammers processor(s)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Firefox hammers processor(s)

    I've recently come back to my old favourite Ubuntu after using a couple of others during the U***y years. It looks great and is easy to use. However when Firefox is running it usually hammers the processor. If I watch a video (only 480p so not very demanding) or there is a busy webpage it does it. If I stop using Firefox but leave it running, something usually starts and hammers the processor. It isn't really usable because the fan is working at full power/volume. I'm very reluctant to go back to what I was on before so I'd like to fix it. I remember un-installing some stupid indexer that I hadn't asked for a couple of years ago and I can't see anything like that running. Is there something I can disable or remove from the OS, or have I got some strange setting in Firefox?

    I can look in System Monitor Processes for anything obvious.
    Fedora 35

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    I think I'm here! Maybe?
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    Hidden!
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    Xubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish

    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    Try adding ublock-origin if you don't already use it; it can stop a lot of ads which use high-cpu animations and activities and it's a first add-on addition for me.

  3. #3
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    Kubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisOfBristol View Post
    If I watch a video (only 480p so not very demanding) or there is a busy webpage it does it.
    By default all of the browsers on Linux have hardware-accelerated video decoding disabled. There's a build of Chromium that you can use that has support for it enabled.

    Websites run all kinds of arbitrary code: adverts, trackers, GUI stuff, and so on, and they run it on your machine so it's not them that needs to pay for the electricity. There are any number of extensions that you might choose to use to get them under control, depending on which parts you're most bothered by. All of the standard suggestions are good ones.
    None but ourselves can free our minds

  4. #4
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    Jan 2020
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    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    If you run google chrome is CPU usage better?

  5. #5
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    Xubuntu

    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    Install uBlock like ajgreeny already advised.

  6. #6
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    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    Post some system specs, processor, amount of memory, graphics card or integrated graphics adapter.

    I run Ubuntu 20.04 on 2010 / 2013 desktops with a dual core processors and 4.0 GB / 8.0 GB memory with integrated graphics adapters and they run fine.


    What other distros were you running before Ubuntu 20.04 and did this problem exist with those distros.

    It may be that Gnome3 is to much for the hardware you have so perhaps a distro with a lighter user interface.


    I run Ublock Origin and DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials both work excellent imo.
    Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.
    (Mark Twain)

  7. #7
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    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    @poorguy

    chris@desktop:~$ lscpu
    Architecture: x86_64
    CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
    Byte Order: Little Endian
    Address sizes: 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
    CPU(s): 2
    On-line CPU(s) list: 0,1
    Thread(s) per core: 1
    Core(s) per socket: 2
    Socket(s): 1
    NUMA node(s): 1
    Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
    CPU family: 15
    Model: 6
    Model name: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.40GHz
    Stepping: 4
    CPU MHz: 2400.000
    CPU max MHz: 3400.0000
    CPU min MHz: 2400.0000
    BogoMIPS: 6783.33
    L1d cache: 32 KiB
    L2 cache: 4 MiB
    NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0,1
    Vulnerability Itlb multihit: KVM: Vulnerable
    Vulnerability L1tf: Mitigation; PTE Inversion
    Vulnerability Mds: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no mic
    rocode; SMT disabled
    Vulnerability Meltdown: Mitigation; PTI
    Vulnerability Spec store bypass: Vulnerable
    Vulnerability Spectre v1: Mitigation; usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user
    pointer sanitization
    Vulnerability Spectre v2: Mitigation; Full generic retpoline, STIBP disab
    led, RSB filling
    Vulnerability Tsx async abort: Not affected
    Flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtr
    r pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx f
    xsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constan
    t_tsc pebs bts nopl cpuid pni dtes64 monitor ds
    _cpl est cid cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm pti

    MEMORY 4GB, but there is a common BIOS bug that means only 3.4GB can be used.

    chris@desktop:~$ lspci | grep VGA
    01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GT218 [GeForce 210] (rev a2)

    What other distros were you running before Ubuntu 20.04 and did this problem exist with those distros.
    I tried Mint Cinnamon briefly (too buggy, poor support), Mint MATE (fine), Ubuntu MATE (fine) and then for quite a while Ubuntu Budgie (Great).

    It may be that Gnome3 is to much for the hardware you have so perhaps a distro with a lighter user interface.
    I've heard that Gnome3 is resource hungry and I suspect that is the problem, but I'm reluctant to jump to conclusions without asking the experts.

    I run Ublock Origin and DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials both work excellent imo.
    I've installed both of those at the suggestion of posters on this thread, but they haven't made any difference.
    Last edited by ChrisOfBristol; June 2nd, 2020 at 06:21 PM.
    Fedora 35

  8. #8
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    Aug 2011
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    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    @ daniewicz Chromium isn't noticeably better.
    Fedora 35

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
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    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    Your amount of memory isn't listed.

    I have a pentium d processor an 820 smithfield and I also have an nvidia geforce 210 graphics card worked great for running Windows XP back in the day.

    From my experience a few years back my pentium d processor and my nvida geforce 210 graphics card and 4.0 GB of memory in my desktop running Ubuntu 14.04 was a somewhat painful experience.

    The pentium d processor just doesn't have the power to run a resource heavy desktop such as Gnome not to mention that youtube and most browsers eat up a lot of memory.

    I'd try a lighter distro Lubuntu LXQT 20.04 or LXLE both are excellent choices for under powered computers.

    I'm using Lubuntu LXQT 20.04 on an old computer listed in this link where you can check out it's specs and it runs great.

    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2444335


    P.S. I'm no expert.
    Last edited by poorguy; June 2nd, 2020 at 02:33 PM.
    Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.
    (Mark Twain)

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    104

    Re: Firefox hammers processor(s)

    @poorguy I assumed lscpu would include that. I've added it to the list above.
    Fedora 35

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