High CPU Usage on Idle Pages

[kor]

Are you secretly running miner?

 

[Paul]

No, and CPU usage should be normal. What browser are you using, and do you have any extensions? Have you tested it with all extensions disabled?

 

[kor]

I'm using Safari 15.2 with no extension.

This usually become an issue after a tab left opened for a while.

 

[Paul]

Interesting. I’ve occasionally gotten a message from Safari about high CPU or memory usage, but it seems to affect other websites as well, including other sites running XenForo. When I actually check the CPU usage, it seems fine. I suspect there’s an issue with Safari related to service workers and push notifications, but I haven’t been able to reproduce it reliably enough to troubleshoot, and you’re only the second person (besides myself) who’s reported it.

 

[poweredbyme]

High CPU usage is usually for hardware issues or an outdated operating system. Try a more powerful and newer device/desktop/laptop or add some RAM.

 

[Paul]

High CPU usage is usually for hardware issues or an outdated operating system. Try a more powerful and newer device/desktop/laptop or add some RAM.

That shouldn't be the case when browsing NamePros. Our site is designed to work on low-end devices.

 

[johnn]

Run task manager and see which one is still running

 

[poweredbyme]

That shouldn't be the case when browsing NamePros. Our site is designed to work on low-end devices.

Have you tried to browse NamePros on a 10+ years old cpu with integrated gpu and 2 gb ram? Those who complain about high cpu usage have usually such outdated devices which can't handle javascripts of today.

 

[Paul]

Have your tried to browse NamePros on a 10+ years old cpu with integrated gpu and 2 gb ram? Those who complain about high cpu usage have usually such outdated devices which can't handle javascripts of today.

Yes. That's not to say the experience will be particularly enjoyable, but it'll be tolerable.

We do require you to update your web browser, but you won't even be able to connect to NamePros with a significantly out-of-date web browser; you'll get an SSL/TLS error if your browser is too old and only supports broken encryption standards.

Updating your web browser does not require updating your operating system.

 

[kor]

Those who complain about high cpu usage have usually such outdated devices which can't handle javascripts of today.

The keyword was "idle pages". It doesn't happen on active pages.

I'm using Safari 16.5 on MacBook Pro 2020 M1 (Ventura 13.4) and the same problem still occurs time to time.

 

[poweredbyme]

The keyword was "idle pages". It doesn't happen on active pages.

I'm using Safari 16.5 on MacBook Pro 2020 M1 (Ventura 13.4) and the same problem still occurs time to time.

Find which processes are using most of cpu to make sure the issue is related to safari.
If you can't monitor cpu usage of system processes, try firefox to eliminate safari related possibilities.

 

[kor]

I have to use Safari for work because it is integrated with the Apple ecosystem.

Without having to follow the process manager, Safari itself gives the following error after a while: This tab is frozen due to excessive CPU consumption.

 

[poweredbyme]

Websites that you can find at search result pages are usually safe.

Operating systems are not compatible to all browsers. Websites and page elements aren't compatible to all browsers and all browser versions. Firefox has problems with some websites, chrome has problems with other sites, explorer has problems with some other sites. This issue is not unusual. There is no easy fix from website side. Usually the only fix for a web client is to have minimum 2 computers with different operating systems. The most compatible and secure combination is firefox on a linux distro. I would buy an extra laptop or build a new desktop or run linux+firefox combination virtually on the existing laptop.

Website owners are usually unaware. Even if they are informed about the problem, fix is usually very difficult and is not worth the effort and risks. Especially if the site script is a paid licensed one with encrypted codes, solution will be much more complicated or impossible. Websites, especially high traffic websites will be unable to solve the problem or will ignore the problem for an indefinite time period. Every change on website is a gamble for website owners. A tiny change may end up with lower traffic and/or revenue. Drops on search engine rankings particularly tend to be permanent.

 

[Paul]

I'm using Safari 16.5 on MacBook Pro 2020 M1 (Ventura 13.4) and the same problem still occurs time to time.

I used to see it in Safari on an M1 device as well, but it's not an issue on iOS or in Chrome on macOS. I ended up switching back to Chrome since Safari doesn't support multiple profiles. There was no obvious cause, and Safari didn't provide any useful debugging info on the matter. (Edit: Typo)

Find which processes are using most of cpu to make sure the issue is related to safari.

Safari tells you exactly which website is causing the problem. It shows a notice at the top of the webpage.

Websites that you can find at search result pages are usually safe.

Eh?

There is no easy fix from website side.

That's rarely true, although in this case Safari isn't offering useful metrics when the issue occurs. I have a hunch it has something to do with Safari's buggy handling of some of the newer animation APIs, but that's purely speculation. Profiling doesn't show anything useful, which strongly suggests it's a Safari bug--if it were lousy JavaScript on our end, that'd show up during profiling.

The most compatible and secure combination is firefox on a linux distro.

That's subjective and dependent on both use case and threat model.

I would buy an extra laptop or build a new desktop or run linux+firefox combination virtually on the existing laptop.

We're not going to ask users to buy new devices just so they can use NamePros. A MacBook Pro 2020 M1 isn't exactly a low-end device: it ought to have no issue. This is almost certainly a Safari bug that we'll either need to work around or report upstream.

Website owners are usually unaware. Even if they are informed about the problem, fix is usually very difficult and is not worth the effort and risks. Especially if the site script is a paid licensed one with encrypted codes, solution will be much more complicated or impossible. Websites, especially high traffic websites will be unable to solve the problem or will ignore the problem for an indefinite time period. Every change on website is a gamble for website owners. A tiny change may end up with lower traffic and/or revenue. Drops on search engine rankings particularly tend to be permanent.

That isn't applicable in this situation. NamePros has an in-house development team, and we test on all sorts of devices.