Firefox causes massive Xorg CPU usage

Since installing Dapper Flight 6 last week, I've been plagued by an extremely slow Firefox, though this problem was not present in my previous Dapper install that had, at one point, been Breezy.

When running top, I've found that Xorg tends to take up 60%+ of the CPU with the remaining percentage being devoted to Firefox, or sometimes vice versa.

This prompted me to edit my xorg.conf.

I found that my default config file listed the Device Driver as 'nv' instead of 'nvidia' as it always had been on my machine before I installed Flight 6.

Reading advice in <a href="https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/firefox/+bug/32561/+index">Bug #32561</a> also prompted me to add MOZ_DISABLE_PANGO=1 to /etc/environment.

I don't report bugs very often, so I'm not sure on the policy of providing a fix for a problem within the main bug report. :P

I believe that the default driver for nvidia cards is nv, not nvidia, due to licence issues with the proprietary nvidia driver. You may want to ask about this on the community forums (for example, at http://www.ubuntu.com/community/forums/document_view).

Also, this isn't a problem with Firefox - you might want to file a bug on nv about the slowness with firefox.

I've the same problem, launching firefox on some page ( http://www.lesoir.be/ ). The computer slows down, Here is the result of top :
Tasks: 132 total, 2 running, 130 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie
Cpu(s): 90.0% us, 0.3% sy, 0.0% ni, 9.7% id, 0.0% wa, 0.0% hi, 0.0% si
Mem: 1028276k total, 844096k used, 184180k free, 36084k buffers
Swap: 1461904k total, 0k used, 1461904k free, 373752k cached

  PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND
 5352 root 19 0 204m 26m 4748 R 85.2 2.7 2:57.95 Xorg
 7240 berti 16 0 254m 49m 25m S 2.7 4.9 0:02.95 firefox-bin
 5765 berti 15 0 142m 40m 20m S 2.0 4.0 0:59.21 konqueror

Killing firefox and everything gets back immediatly to the normal situation. I'm using an ati card with the open-source "ati" driver. This is an up-to-date dapper on a AMD64 machine.

this may not be dapper-firefox specific. I'm using swiftfox (firefox compiled for specific archs) and I too see the high cpu usage by xorg from time to time... may be this should be sent upstream to firefox...

i can confirm this on both my dapper boxes. one is a p3 @ 667mhz with 128mb sd ram and an intel i810

the other is a amd athlon xp 2100+ 768mb ddr ram & the ati 9600se 128mb using the fglrx driver

it makes firefox feel like it just crashed on the p3, but survivable on the amd.

here's a test example which duplicates for me.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BNWT-VINTAGE-50s-CHIC-RED-CIRCLE-SWING-DRESS-UK-14_W0QQitemZ9325213060QQcategoryZ58377QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

scroll down down to the red dress and watch the cpu usage hit the roof

i can confirm this on my edgy testbox & my dapper machine using ubuntu firefox builds & offical firefox builds including 2.0a3 & 3.0 (trunk 7-7-06).

this bug doesn't feel any better under 2.0a3, BUT under 3.0 there were actual noticable improvements AND statistical improvements (from monitoring top).

this bug does feel like the browser has died on slower hardware and ruins the browsing experience under ubuntu. (thanks mum for sending me some great test examples) http://cgi.ebay.com.au/INDIGO-MOON-BEADED-DEVORE-JACKET-BNWT-SIZE-M_W0QQitemZ110004721071QQihZ001QQcategoryZ53367QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
load the site up, and scroll down, xorg cpu usage WILL skyrocket =D and on slower hardware... firefox will feel like it died!

> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/INDIGO-MOON-BEADED-DEVORE-JACKET-BNWT-SIZE-M_W0QQitemZ110004721071QQihZ001QQcategoryZ53367QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

first of all, ouch...

this is an upstream bug for sure, as my firefox (1.5.0.4) almost died on that link and I am using Zenwalk 2.6 on this box.

Hi ! I can confirm this bug. I've visited this site "www.html.it" and this is the output of top:

PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 4433 root 15 0 138m 57m 10m S 62.3 11.5 27:32.49 Xorg

I use Dapper and firefox 1.5.0.7

Bye

Enrico

the situation has improved in firefox 2.0rc2 like it was in firefox trunk. but it could still be alot better. since the cpu usage is in Xorg not firefox... maybe it's an Xorg issue!

Hi DarkMageZ !

I've tried with Opera without problem...so I think it's a bug of firefox...

Bye

Enrico

I've tried with Opera too, with problem. Indeed, ny apps wich need scrolling screen causes massive uses of CPU. I use an Acer Aspire 1350 Series with Athlon XP-M Processor, 1 Gb Ram DDR 2700.
Roger

Confirming this problem...

Edgy
2.6.17-10-generic #2 SMP Tue Dec 5 21:16:35 UTC 2006 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Context switch from Firefox (both Ubuntu package 2.0.0.1+0dfsg-0ubuntu0.6.10 and Mozilla 2.0.0.1) to Xterm results in 100% CPU by Xorg.

This looks like http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=342105;msg=35

Some people has workaround the issue by using "exa", but this does not work for my HP nw8240 with FireGL V5000 (x700) as it makes whole Xorg slow (moving windows...) with "ati" driver.

thanks luka, i added the proposed workaround to the summary, so other users can test and report their experience.

does anyone have a new testcase? as the one i reported before has been altered to the point of not being useful at all.

nomination for new testcase. http://textra.podshow.com/
nowhere near as deadly as the old one. but still effective.

I just discovered the same: Scrolling some websites ends in almost 100% CPU usage. This is my config:

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.6)
Gecko/20061201 Firefox/2.0.0.6 (Ubuntu-feisty)
My PC is an Athlon 64 3700 with 1024MB RAM and an ATI X1950XT vid card.

So far I have ALL the updates in Feisty, so my guess goes by the side of Firefox. I also tried with Opera but the slowness is not so awful. This is true for the "textra" page wich is even worse than the one I discovered.

Any final idea about why is this happening ???.

Regards.

Turbo.
;-)

I can also confirm on http://textra.podshow.com/

100% cpu usage while loading the page, and 100% while scrolling.

Option "AccelMethod" "exa"
in xorg.conf does not help.

Feisty w/ current updates
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.6) Gecko/20061201 Firefox/2.0.0.6 (Ubuntu-feisty)
ATI Radeon (the original)

Let me know if you want more info.

Interestingly enough, AccelMethod "exa" causes this on my laptop.
The laptop is a Pentium 4 2.8Ghz with 1G memory and an ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 (R250) sharing the main memory.
However, AccelMethod "XAA" and having RenderAccel "true" fixes it.
exa was faster on Edgy.

I hope this helps someone.
I will attach my fairly tweaked xorg.conf.

I can also confirm on http://textra.podshow.com/

None workaround works for me. I'm using ubuntu gutsy with latest updates.

Using proprietary nvidia drivers.

On Sat, Dec 29, 2007 at 02:31:31PM -0000, Sylvestre Mergulhão wrote:
> I can also confirm on http://textra.podshow.com/
>
> None workaround works for me. I'm using ubuntu gutsy with latest
> updates.
>
> Using proprietary nvidia drivers.
>

please try to run firefox without pango. start firefox from a command
line like:

export MOZ_DISABLE_PANGO=1
firefox

Thanks,

 - Alexander

disabling pango has almost no effect on this issue. please do try to look at an issue before commenting asac.

I have the same problem. (with Sidux (Debian Sid Distro), my graphics card is an Intel X3100 (Intel GM965) using xserver-xorg-intel and mesa)

Xorg cpu usage skyrockets while firefox is rendering a page, or while entering text in the addressbar for example.
Maybe this is a gtk problem not a firefox problem at all, also I downgraded to an earlier Version of gtk (and libgtk*). Other gtk programs seem to increase xorg cpuload too, but firefox is worst by far.

Changing the AccelMethod to eaa or exa didn't work, neither did disabling pango

Regards
McG aka Roland

Turns out this was/is a problem with a new version of xserver-xorg-video-intel.
The problem disappears when using vesa driver or downgrading to an older version of xserver-xorg-video-intel.

For anyone interested: I have an Intel X3100 (GM965) and
xserver-xorg-video-intel Version 2:2.2.0-1 does not work (problem description see post above)
xserver-xorg-video-intel Version 2:2.1.1-4 does work

Xorg does not just hog CPU while firefox is rendering a page (this would be understandable), but even when firefox is quietly waiting for data, for example if the wireless connection has dropped out, firefox is sitting using about 5% CPU waiting for data, but Xorg is eating 40% - why?

At least with the new version, firefox itself doesn't hog so much CPU time while waiting for data from the network interface.

Ubuntu 7.10 (PPC) Apple PowerBook G4 ATI rv350 FOSS xorg driver - Firefox 3.0

Can confirm that I still get the same effects with the latest firefox-3.5 package in that ppa.
Note: firefox 3.1 was renamed to firefox 3.5

It's worth noting that there is also a Firefox 3.1b3 build in the ubuntu jaunty repos.

And I also get the same effects with the Firefox 3.1b3 build from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html
(sorry these last three posts should probably have been consolidated into one.

Ok... oddly enough adding
Option "RenderAccel" "true"
to all my Device sections in xorg.conf seems to fix this (at least for launchpad as a testcase)

Have you tried closing all firefoxes then run:

mv ~/.mozilla ~/.mozilla_old

Then rerunning firefox?

Fixes a world of things.

Didn't work when I last tried it. I've gotten so fed up with the
problem that I switched to using 3.5, which does not have that
problem.

On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 2:19 PM, actionparsnip
<email address hidden> wrote:
> Have you tried closing all firefoxes then run:
>
> mv ~/.mozilla ~/.mozilla_old
>
> Then rerunning firefox?
>
> Fixes a world of things.
>
> --
> Firefox causes massive Xorg CPU usage
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/38131
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>

I’ve noticed a similar problem, but under slightly different circumstances, everything runs fine (Firefox, videos etc.) and typically the Xorg process is always less that 10%.

My problem occurs when a seconds user logs on, for example the screen saved comes on, my gf clicks “switch user”/“change user” or whatever its called, she logs in and the CPU usage of Xorg process shoots through the roof, especially when using Firefox.

My setup is as below:

OS: Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Venice/San Diago Core)
Memory: 2GB PC3200 Corsair
Video Card: ATI X1800 (R520)
Driver: Open Source radeon (NOT radeonhd)

I’ve tinkered with some of the Xorg.conf settings, and if I set the AccelMethod to the older XAA mode instead of EXA, the problem doesn’t exhibit itself. Unfortunately I cannot play videos using XAA mode.

I’m guessing it’s a problem with the open source radeon driver and EXA Accel method (in my case at least).

A bit more background info for anyone who’s interested:

After more digging there seems to be a number of bug call specifically relating to the issue with multiple users that I’m experiencing, some of the threads suggest it’s an issue with the first session locking the DRI/DRM and as such when a seconds user logs in they cannot access the DRM and hence they drop back to software rendering. One thread suggests that “drm multi-master” support was required to successfully allow multiple users to access the DRM.

Anyway I decided to turn on Kernel Mode Setting and this seams to have allow both uses to access DRM according to glxinfo and X logs and GDM logs. Unfortunately this presents further issues, one is the fact that the Mode lines aren’t detected correctly and I’ve lost a number of resolutions settings that were available under X control (not a huge issue, but slightly annoying). The other is that Xorg now uses high CPU for a single user or multiple users, especially noticeable under Firefox (3.5). Playing videos however seems fine.

I’ve added ‘Option "RenderAccel" "true"’ and ‘Option "AccelMethod" "exa"’ to my xorg.conf, same problem.

Sorry but Firefox-3.0 has reached EOL and will not receive updates anymore. Can you please confirm if this still happens on Firefox-3.5
Upstream bug report needs to be updated to confirmed if someone can do that.

3.0.18 has been decided for Feb.

I've had this problem with xorg as long as I have been using Ubuntu (4 years).
Currently getting this problem on Lucid 10.04 Alpha3 with NVidia 195.36.03 driver.
When using a "slow" internet connection - which is 95% of the time for me as I use a Huawei E172 USB modem - xorg "eats" processor cycles, regularly going anywhere between 60-90% of CPU when I'm browsing the web with Firefox v3.6.

Same issue on Ubuntu lucid 10.04: in some pages, like this page, firefox become extremely slow and the Xorg process eats a lot of CPU. It doesn't happens with Google Chrome.

Confirming that this issue occurs on Ubuntu 10.10 amd64, w/ Firefox/Namoroka 3.6.14pre.

I have the same problem with Ubuntu 10.10 i386 and Firefox 4.0b7

Same issue. Firefox 3.6.12 Ubuntu 10.10 64 bit.

Same problem for me. It seems when firefox is running and I opening new tabs or I making some window-operating (minimize, maximize) the firefox and xorg eat my cpu for a sec. Cpu usage goes up to 90-95% and everything are stopped for a moment. It is not funny when music breaks like on old turntables Now I using opera and there is no problem. With 10 opened tabs i can do anything without extreme cpu usage.

System: Ubuntu 10.04 32bit
VGA: ATI Radeon HD 3650 (Catalyst 10.11)
Browser: Firefox 3.6.13

Some additional info: I changed my VGA in last few days and the previous card was an Nvidia Geforce 7600GS and this problem has started now. It may be some fglrx-firefox-xorg incompatibility or I was just lucky before vga-change?

I started to notice this recently with this advent of Google's fancy new images search. As one scrolls down the page and more images are pulled in the Xorg CPU usage pegs to a core. After you get to the bottom scrolling back and forth seems fine.

My hypothesis (well, more of a wild stab in the dark really since I know very little about X) is that firefox is asking for various bitmap stuff from the X-server and this is the cause of the badness.

FTR I also have an NVidia card (GeForce 8800) and this driver (from the logs):

[ 218.696] (II) NOUVEAU driver Date: Thu Aug 5 00:40:40 2010 +0200
[ 218.696] (II) NOUVEAU driver for NVIDIA chipset families :
[ 218.696] RIVA TNT (NV04)
[ 218.696] RIVA TNT2 (NV05)
[ 218.696] GeForce 256 (NV10)
[ 218.696] GeForce 2 (NV11, NV15)
[ 218.696] GeForce 4MX (NV17, NV18)
[ 218.696] GeForce 3 (NV20)
[ 218.696] GeForce 4Ti (NV25, NV28)
[ 218.696] GeForce FX (NV3x)
[ 218.696] GeForce 6 (NV4x)
[ 218.696] GeForce 7 (G7x)
[ 218.696] GeForce 8 (G8x)
[ 218.696] (II) NOUVEAU driver Date: Thu Aug 5 00:40:40 2010 +0200
[ 218.696] (II) NOUVEAU driver for NVIDIA chipset families :
[ 218.696] RIVA TNT (NV04)
[ 218.696] RIVA TNT2 (NV05)
[ 218.696] GeForce 256 (NV10)
[ 218.696] GeForce 2 (NV11, NV15)
[ 218.696] GeForce 4MX (NV17, NV18)
[ 218.696] GeForce 3 (NV20)
[ 218.696] GeForce 4Ti (NV25, NV28)
[ 218.696] GeForce FX (NV3x)
[ 218.696] GeForce 6 (NV4x)
[ 218.696] GeForce 7 (G7x)
[ 218.696] GeForce 8 (G8x)

I can confirm this in the recent release of Firefox 4. As Steve mentioned, it's easily reproducible simply by performing a Google Image search. This causes high CPU usage from the X server and on my computer at least, the display temporarily freezes.

I'm running Arch Linux, with an Nvidia 8200M (notebook) video card. If I can help by providing more information, please just ask. This has basically made Firefox unusable for me (so I'm posting from Chromium).

I am affected by this on Ubuntu 15.10 and Firefox 44 every time I user http://web.whatsapp.com