How to make Chrome use less CPU – 11 easy fixes

While you can open as many tabs as you want in Chrome, it isn’t recommended. This is because having several tabs opened at the same time will make Chrome use more CPU resources. Sure, there will be times when you have to keep all the tabs open. But most of the time, keep only the ones that you need opened.

A lot of you might not know this, but Chrome has its own Memory Saver that can help you reduce the burden on the CPU. This is great for those who like to keep multiple tabs open, as it frees up memory from inactive tabs. Thanks to this, Chrome only uses the resources for active tabs, which improves the overall performance.

• Launch Chrome and type chrome://settings in the address bar.
• Click on Performance.

  

• Click on the grey toggle button next to ‘Memory Saver’ to enable the feature.

  

Another feature that many Chrome users don’t know about is the Task Manager. No, we’re not talking about the one that comes in Windows. We’re talking about Chrome’s own Task Manager. This can help you identify and get rid of tabs that are using the most CPU resources.

• Open Chrome and click on the three vertical dots located in the top right-corner of the screen.
• Click on More Tools and select Task Manager.

  

• Select the tabs that are using the most CPU resources and click on ‘End process’ to close them.

  

Chrome automatically keeps running background apps even after you close the background. This is enabled by default and can use CPU resources even when you’re not using Chrome. On the other hand, hardware acceleration allows Chrome to use your GPU instead of the CPU. But in some cases, it doesn’t work as it is supposed to and ends up putting a burden on the processor.

To disable them, follow these steps.

• Click on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of Chrome and select Settings.
• Go to System and disable the ‘Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed’ and ‘Use graphics acceleration when available’ options.

  

If your Chrome’s cache has taken up a lot of storage or some of it has gotten corrupt, then the browser will start putting a load on the processor. Thankfully, this can be cleared in an instant.

• Go to Chrome’s settings and click on Privacy and Security.
• Click on Clear browsing data.
• Go to the Basic tab and set the time range to ‘All time.’
• Check the boxes next to browsing history, cookies, and cached images and files.
• Click on Clear Data and wait for the process to finish.

  

Preloading is useful for sites that you visit frequently, as it provides you with a faster browsing experience by keeping everything ready as soon as you visit the website. However, this also uses more CPU resources, so you’ll need to disable the feature to reduce Chrome’s CPU usage.

• Go to the Settings and access Performance.
• Under Speed, uncheck the toggle button next to ‘Preload pages’ to disable it.

  

Chrome extensions improve functionality but also consume resources. If you have several of them, you need to disable them one by one to see which one is burdening the CPU.

• Go to ‘Extensions’ from Chrome’s settings.

  

• Disable all extensions and see if that reduces the CPU usage.
• If it did, enable the extensions one by one, but make sure to keep an eye on the CPU usage for a spike.
• If enabling a certain usage increases the CPU usage, you’ll need to either keep it disabled or remove it from Chrome.

If you recently downloaded something from an untrusted site, your system may have gotten infected with a virus or malware. This can end up affecting Chrome’s performance and can make it consume more CPU resources. In such a situation, you need to use Windows Defender or a third-party anti-virus software to perform a full scan of your system. If there’s a virus or malware, the software will find and remove it immediately.

Running an outdated version of Chrome can also sometimes cause it to use more CPU resources. The quickest way to fix such an issue is by going to Settings, accessing the About Chrome page, and installing the latest update from there.

Chrome may be using more CPU than before due to a temporary bug or glitch. This can be resolved by resetting Chrome’s settings. However, keep in mind that performing a reset will remove your custom settings from the browser, and you’ll have to set it up again from scratch.

• Go to Chrome’s settings.
• Click on ‘Reset settings.’
• Select ‘Restore settings to their original defaults’ and click on ‘Reset settings’ to confirm.

  

If a reset hasn’t done the job, then the problem may be linked to its files. Either they have gotten corrupt or there is something else wrong with them. In any case, in such a situation, your last resort is to delete Chrome and install it again.