Member Avatar for cambalinho

my CPU can be 50% or even 100% with online videos(i'm using firefox, but i notice on chrome too).
maybe i have the Hadware\Video Acellerator Activated or something. can anyone advice me?
- audio seems playing normaly;
- video can freezes some frames :(

  • 6 Contributors
  • 13 Replies
  • 241 Views
  • 2 Weeks Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by y0f4n

Dani AI

Generated

Short, practical summary: when a browser plays video with software decoding instead of the GPU, CPU usage will spike and frames will drop. That behavior matches what reported (changing the player changed the load), and it is common on older dual-core systems and integrated GPUs. The right fix is to confirm whether the browser is using hardware video decode, update drivers, and fall back to lower resolution if needed.

Diagnostic checklist you can follow now:

  • Open Task Manager and note which process spikes when video stutters (the browser tab, a plugin process, or something else).
  • In Chrome check chrome://gpu and in Firefox check about:support -> Graphics. Look for entries that say hardware acceleration or hardware video decode is enabled or disabled.
  • Toggle the browser setting for "use hardware acceleration" (turn it off, restart, test; then try turning it on and test). Different browsers can use different decoders, so testing another browser is useful.
  • Update or reinstall your graphics drivers from the GPU vendor (Intel/NVIDIA/AMD). Bad drivers often force software fallback.
  • Try a lower playback resolution (480p/360p) to see if CPU stays low. Also test with extensions disabled or the browser in safe mode.

Why this happens: some modern codecs (for example VP9) are much heavier to decode in software than older codecs (H.264), and many older GPUs never implemented hardware decode for newer codecs. When the browser or system lacks a matching hardware decoder it falls back to the CPU.

One important caution: although switching to Flash once helped in older setups, Flash reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020 and is a security risk—avoid re-enabling Flash today. If the problem persists, post the chrome://gpu or about:support output plus the Task Manager snapshot and system GPU model for more targeted advice.

Recommended Answers

All 13 Replies

Member Avatar for Xlphos

Hello,

Can you post the spec of your PC?

Member Avatar for cambalinho

maybe is 2.00GHz of CPU and 256MB of graphic and i must use less quallity on youtube.

Member Avatar for Xlphos

hello,

Have you checked all your drivers for graphics are uptodate?

Have you tried a lower quality of the video incase your graphics are struggling?

Member Avatar for rubberman

A 2GHz CPU and 256MB of video RAM is pretty minimal these days. What happens when you run videos outside of Firefox? Also, how much RAM does your system have (besides video RAM)? Firefox on my Linux system takes at least 600MB.

Member Avatar for cambalinho

memory shared 1151MB; video system memory 0MB; and have 3GB's of ram. i use the firefox, but the chrome have the same problem

Member Avatar for Slavi

If you are using a Dual core processor, there's nothing to wonder about

Member Avatar for cambalinho

yes.. it's dual core. but how can resolve the problem? :(

Member Avatar for Jimadams

May be your CPU have less memory of you can post the full specification here.

Member Avatar for Slavi

Pretty much only by getting a new one. Dual cores nowadays are getting outdated pretty quick .. I still have an old pc(8-9 years) with a dual core intel. I've experienced exactly the same thing as you and out of curiousity I tried running different operating systems on it and even with lightweight ones like elementaryOS i still experienced high cpu usage performance, unlike my laptop has i7 processor and idle is 0% usage constantly

Member Avatar for cambalinho

the internet explorer can show me the online video without so many problems. but the browser is very slow :(
any advice please?

Member Avatar for Slavi

Internet explorer is a browser, what do you refer to when saying a browser? Google Chrome?

Member Avatar for cambalinho

problem resolved, but i'm confused.
the firefox or other browser activated the Flash Player addon, but not on video. on video, i was, always with HTML 5, instead Flash Player(i have seen the video menu). for resolve that i installed another addon for activate the Flash Player. i'm confused, because, on past, these never happen :(

Member Avatar for y0f4n

firefox can be take extra RAM usage, sometime get effect for CPU usage.
pls try use "Momo - Web Browser Optimizer",this will help to optimize firefox memory usage od your computer

commented: thanks +3
Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.