In general, the problem of High CPU Usage by Google Chrome is due its default tendency to make the most use of resources as available on a computer and run programs in the background.
Apart from this, the problem of high CPU & RAM usage by Google Chrome on a Windows computer can be caused due to multiple open browser tabs, incompatible browser extensions, corrupted browser cache and other reasons.
Fix High CPU Usage by Google Chrome
If Google Chrome browser is using a high amount of resources on your computer, you should be able to fix the problem using the following steps.
1. Close Browser Tabs
As mentioned above, opening multiple browser tabs leads to excessive resource demand by Google Chrome browser on your computer.
Hence, close all open Chrome browser Tabs on your computer and try to use Google Chrome with as few open browser tabs as possible.
2. Update Chrome Browser
The next step would be to make sure that you are using the latest version of Google Chrome on your computer.
1. Open the Chrome Browser on your computer.
2. Click on 3-dots menu icon (top-right) > Hoover mouse on Help and click on About Google Chrome.
3. On the next screen, wait for Google Chrome to check and apply the updates (if available).
4. Click on the Relaunch button to restart the Chrome browser on your computer.
3. Clear Browser Cache
Expired and corrupted cached files can lead to High CPU usage on your computer by interfering with proper functioning of Google Chrome.
1. Open Google Chrome > click on 3-dots menu icon > select Delete Browsing Data option in the drop-down menu.
2. On the next screen, select All Time as the “Time Range” > check Browsing History, Cookies & Site Data, Cached Images and Files and click on Clear Data button.
After Clearing Cookies, Cache images and browsing history, try to access the webpage and see if you are still getting “Google Chrome Browser has stopped working error.
4. Prevent Chrome from Running in Background
As mentioned above, Google Chrome has a default tendency to allow browser extensions and apps to run in background.
1. Open Google Chrome > click on 3-dots Icon and select Settings in the drop-down menu.
2. On the Settings screen, select System in the left-pane. In the right-pane, disable Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed option.
This will prevent the browser from running Chrome processes in the background on your computer.
5. Check For Conflicting Software
The High CPU Usage on your computer might be due to an app or program being incomptaible with the browser.
1. Open the Chrome Browser on your computer.
2. Type chrome://conflicts into the Address bar and press the Enter key.
If Google Chrome reports any conflicting software, you can uninstall the conflicting program by going to Settings > Apps > Program Name and clicking on Uninstall.
6. Disable Graphics Acceleration
The Graphics acceleration feature in Google Chrome is known to cause High CPU & RAM usage problem, especially on budget computers.
1. Open Google Chrome > click on 3-dots Icon and select Settings in the drop-down menu.
2. On the Settings screen, select System in the left-pane. In the right-pane, disable Use graphics acceleration when available option.
This will prevent Google Chrome from making use of the graphics acceleration feature.
7. Disable Browser Extensions
As mentioned above, incompatible browser extensions can cause high CPU usage.
1. Open the Google Chrome browser on your computer.
2. Click on 3-dots menu icon > Hoover mouse over Extension > click on Manage Extensions.
3. On the next screen, disable Extensions by moving the toggle to OFF position.
Note: If an extension is unnecessary, you can click on Remove to uninstall the extension.
8. Reset Google Chrome to Default Settings
If above steps did not help, Reset Google Chrome to its default Settings.
1. Open Google Chrome > click on 3-dots icon and select Settings in the drop-down menu.
2. On the Settings screen, select Reset Settings in the left-pane. In the right-pane, click on Restore Settings to their original defaults option.
3. On the pop-up, click on Reset Settings button to confirm.
After the Reset process is completed, make sure that you disable Graphics Acceleration (item 6 above) and also prevent Google Chrome from running in background (Item 4 above).