Forum Discussion
Browser and GPU process are much higher compared to Brave
Edge Insiders,
My name is Tim Scudder and I’m a member of the Edge performance team. I wanted to provide an update on this issue: we were able to repro the problem locally, we have a fix coded, validated and are now working to get this change into our next dev drop (estimated to be 76.0.166.0).
We apologize for the inconvenience, but truly appreciate everyone’s help in isolating the problem.
NOTE: We are also aware of a https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=962784 that also has CPU/battery impact that originated upstream in Chromium's codebase. This issue has been fixed upstream and we are also working to make sure the fix is in our next dev drop (again, estimated to be 76.0.166.0)
Regards,
Tim Scudder
tomscharbach: "I do not have Chrome on any of my computers, by choice."
sambul95: "I don't get it - why you're so interested in Edge Chromium then?"
I am "so interested" in Edge Chromium because (1) I have used Edge (Classic) as my primary Windows browser for the last two years, and (2) within a few months, Edge Chromium is going to replace Edge (Classic) as the in-baked Windows 10 browser. I want to help ensure that Edge Chromium has the features/functions that I value in Edge (Classic), uses resources as sparingly as Edge (Classic), and is as secure as Edge (Classic).
"I want to help ensure that new Edge uses resources as sparingly as Edge (Classic)."
Are you for real? What in your view prompted the devs to move to Chromium engine then? Did you look at browser https://www.w3schools.com/browsers/ lately? :)
Opening Edge Classic with a few heavy tabs takes out almost all available memory on an older PC with 4GB RAM, and then it crashes. Chromium in sharp contrast has auto https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2015/09/tab-discarding feature, which can be further enhanced with a choice of extensions, and makes possible to run Chrome on an older and slower PC and devices with numerous tabs open without any user effort. Let me remind you, Windows 10 official https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Windows-10-specifications requires just 1Ghz CPU with 1-2 GB RAM.
Lets hope, the devs will bring better Edge Classic video playback performance to Edge Preview as promised, while not senselessly discarding numerous features, flags, components, and options offered by Chromium thus limiting use of its wast extensions choice.
"In each case, over a period of 15 +/- minutes of watching Task Manager, an identical CPU usage pattern appeared"
I don't want to call such testing "fake news", but a typical user wouldn't wait 15 min for "identical pattern" to appear to click on the next page link, which would immediately raise Edge Preview CPU usage back to 15-30% for the next 15 min. Again, you're doing great disservice to the team by posting such "optimistic reports", since you can't convince end users whose battery keeps draining twice faster and PC/laptop fans wind-up twice louder after starting Edge Preview compare to other browsers. Lets hope they'll fix it fast.
sambul95 "Are you for real? What in your view prompted the devs to move to Chromium engine then? Did you look at browser https://www.w3schools.com/browsers/ lately? :)"
I've discussed this issue with others in other threads. I don't think that Microsoft's motivations (reducing browser development/maintenance costs for an unpaid front end to paid, profitable business services) are particularly relevant to this thread.
"I don't want to call such testing "fake news", but a typical user wouldn't wait 15 min for "identical pattern" to appear to click on the next page link, which would immediately raise Edge Preview CPU usage back to 15-30% for the next 15 min."
You sound angry, but I don't think that your anger is justified.
In the post you replied to and in a subsequent post, I confirmed the CPU issue on three computers (relatively high end, mid-range and low end, using different processors and graphics), confirmed that the issue is confined to Edge Chromium by installing Google Chrome and testing against that browser, and reported the issue to the Edge team with enough documentation for them to replicate the issue and get started. In other words, I did the basic work needed to report the issues and give Microsoft enough information to understand that the problem is a base-level issue. At this point, it is up to Microsoft to identify the underlying cause(s) and resolve the issue.
I designed the testing I did to eliminate variables, such as Windows 10 visual effects, browser extensions and add-ons, graphically intensive websites, and constantly updating/changing websites. In other words, I stripped the test environment down to the basics, as best I could, and tested four browsers (Edge (Classic), Edge Chromium, Firefox and Chrome), selecting Bing instances to allow the browsers to come to rest, eliminating the effect of ads and other changing environmental variables. If there is a CPU drain at rest, a drain that does not exist in other browsers, then the issue is a base-level issue inherent to the browser. That was what I was trying to check out, and that is what the results showed.
"Again, you're doing great disservice to the team by posting such "optimistic reports", since you can't convince end users whose battery keeps draining twice faster and PC/laptop fans wind-up twice louder after starting Edge Preview compare to other browsers."
It seems to me that I reported objective facts, and that my reports were neither "optimistic" nor "pessimistic". It was not my intent to convince you are anyone else about anything. My intent was to gather the basic facts needed to report the issue to the Edge team as a base issue isolated to Edge Chromium, and that is what I did.
I've done what I planned to do, and all I plan to do. If you think that the testing I did is "fake news", then test as you see fit and report the results of your testing to Microsoft, as I did.
"Fake" part in your "news" seems to limit CPU load difference to negligible 1.5% at idle, where your definition of "idle" after a webpage load is shifted to 15 min wait, while real difference is 15-30% on an average PC after 2 min wait. Meanwhile, what makes you think your report is the only one submitted to devs by now? :)
I'm optimistic about devs fixing this bug or "feature" sooner or later, in fact more optimistic than for the prospects of adding smiles and picture/video links to this heavy JS fitted board with almost no text area format controls. :)
The only thing I'd suggest Edge team to do to raise the browser popularity is ensure streaming video playback like torrents, including in a separate window via NACL, since it would allow to capitalize on Edge better integration with OS in video playback, and may attract plenty of weaker hardware users dreaming of HD torrents smooth direct playback without prior full download. This is REAL https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/07/13/get-better-quality-video-with-microsoft-edge/#Kdcsbg1KWl21MxKF.97 Edge advantage, I doubt anything else would change current browser usage statistics. Meanwhile, using separate process per tab is required for stability, and some tabs open several processes for faster parallel calcs.
""Fake" part in your "news" seems the limit CPU load difference to negligible 1.5% at idle, where your definition of "idle" is shifted to 15 min wait, while real difference is 15-30% on an average PC after 2 min wait."
The CPU usage difference appeared almost immediately. I ran the test for 15 minutes to make certain that the issue was persistent. I ran the test on three computers to make certain that the issue was consistent. I ran the test when the four browsers were at rest to make certain that the issue was in the browser itself.
"Meanwhile, what makes you think your report is the only one submitted to devs by now? :)"
I don't, and I've not said or suggested that mine was the only report submitted.
If the issue is as crippling under load as you and others report, I would hope that there would have been many reports submitted, a healthy fraction of which would have been systematic, objective comparison testing under load.