8 ms·

Agreed. Now: does Mozilla read these? I tried to switch to Firefox, but was stymied by a bug where Firefox consumes 100%+ CPU on MacBook Pro Retinas. Firefox

Agreed. Now: does Mozilla read these? I tried to switch to Firefox, but was stymied by a bug where Firefox consumes 100%+ CPU on MacBook Pro Retinas. Firefox is basically unusable with this bug; Facebook takes forever to load, and even Reddit r/firefox shows "A webpage is slowing down your browser" bar at the top. Active relevant bugs are here: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1429522 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1429522 But apparently this has been going on for 2+ years and Mozilla hasn't been able to fix it. Given rMBPs (I would think) would be a fairly large market share of people who work at Mozilla or use Firefox, it's both concerning and surprising that a bug of this proportion has gone on so long. Edit: Jeff from Mozilla has reached out. I sent him a perf log and a screenshot. Tracking here: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1494186 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1494186

eslaught 8y ago
I don't know exactly what conditions are required to reproduce the bug, but it clearly does not apply to all rMBPs. I'm on a 15-inch 2016 rMBP and have been using Firefox on it successfully since I got it. Before that I spent a couple months on a 2013 rMBP, also no problems. Edit: For people who want to compare notes: High Sierra 10.13.6, Firefox 62.0.2, resolution is set to "Default for display" (which I think does mean it's doing interpolation of some sort). Automatic graphics switching is enabled. I don't have any trouble watching YouTube videos.
- ericabiz 8y ago
  It happens when you set your rMBP display to "Scaled" in display preferences, which is what most developers do. (Edit to your edit: Try the "More Space" option in your display preferences! It's amazing.)
  - thom_nic 8y ago
    I tried this as well, can't reproduce. I've got a 15" "late 2013" rMBP, set display options to "more space." I've got a total of 45 tabs open between a couple different windows (I use the userChrome hack to re-enable multiple tab rows.) Cycled between tabs, refreshed, navigated around FB, GMail, etc. Can't get the CPU to do anything out of the ordinary.
  - eslaught 8y ago
    Similar to the sibling comment, I can't seem to repro. I switched "More Space", restarted Firefox, loaded up a dozen or so tabs. I even watched a YouTube video for about 10 minutes. The video did cause CPU to jump a bit, but it dropped when I unloaded the tab, and nothing I've done (including the video) has caused any sort of lag like described in your first post or subsequent follow-up. I'm not sure what to say. I'm sure the issue is real, but it seems like we're missing something in the triage. There has to be something else that makes a difference.
  - mercutio2 8y ago
    I very much doubt that “most” developers use “More space”. Most developers in their early 20s seems plausible, but even there, I surveyed my team’s younger cohort, and it was less than 50%.
- blt 8y ago
  I have my display set to "scaled". I get the worst slowdown when streaming videos. 2013 15" w/ Nvidia gpu.
briandear 8y ago
It’s a bit ironic you use Facebook but won’t use Chrome.
- ericabiz 8y ago
  Facebook is super relevant for our business. Not only do we advertise on there, but I also sit on Messenger and answer computer and phone repair questions from friends, and get tagged in "Help! My computer stopped working" types of posts. It drives good business to our repair shops. Facebook has also replaced forums for our industry (cell phone/computer repair), so it's how we find out about the latest trends and innovations. Yesterday I used a document posted on a private FB group to fix 3 2011 15" MacBook Pros with failing GPUs (previously considered "unfixable.") For the industry and business I'm in, there's no substitute.
  - kbenson 8y ago
    That's interesting. I would have assumed that Reddit was a much better resource for at least the technical docs. Many subreddits include a crazy amount of very specific information about just about anything you can think of.
    - ericabiz 8y ago
      Totally agree in general; I've gone down the "Reddit rabbit hole" almost too many times to count. Private groups on FB can be more discerning about their membership, which is also what makes them interesting. Many of the cell phone repair groups I'm in require you to have a repair business, so the groups don't get flooded with what they call "plz bro" posts. (i.e. "How do I fix an iPhone screen?" beginner posts.) It also forms a tighter community; we pretty much all know each other on there, so we refer business back and forth a lot, and use Messenger heavily to buy, sell, and just chat about really obscure or weird repairs that come in the door.
- signal11 8y ago
  I use Facebook very occasionally, and when I do I use Firefox with containers enabled. Facebook and related sites get their own containers.
muizelaar 8y ago
Neither of those bugs have to do with 100% CPU on rMBP. Their about using an inefficient presentation path which increases GPU power usage. You can mitigate this today by setting gfx.compositor.glcontext.opaque to true. Further, Firefox Beta has additional texture upload performance improvements that will reduce cpu usage. If you're actually experiencing 100% cpu usage, post a profile using https://perf-html.io/ https://perf-html.io/ and I can try tell you why.
- ericabiz 8y ago
  Steps to reproduce: 1) Pick a rMBP. Any one. 2) Set display options - "more space" under System Preferences. 3) Run Firefox. Load any website. No extensions; safe mode doesn't matter. 4) 100%+ CPU, fans kick up and run high, system gets hot and slows to a crawl. Chrome and Safari run totally fine under the same conditions. It's documented pretty thoroughly in the first Bugzilla link I posted; the second one is an offshoot where they're trying to solve this specific issue. If you do happen to work at Mozilla, would really appreciate your help escalating. EDIT: I now have a perf file showing significant issues when clicking on a YouTube video. It gives an error when trying to upload it to the site, but if you contact me through email (in my HN profile), I can send it over.
  - exikyut 8y ago
    I don't have a rMBP, and others who may be curious to help may not either. Uploading performance profiles from various websites to the mentioned URL will give everyone something to poke at.
  - mycelium 8y ago
    I spent a few minutes trying to replicate on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) with Firefox 62.0.2 and could not replicate, browsing a number of resource intense sites.
    - ericabiz 8y ago
      Interesting, as this is the same MBP I have, and same Firefox version. I now have a perf file showing the issue. Can't upload it (it gives an error), but would be happy to send it to anyone who thinks they can help.
anonymfus 8y ago
> Given rMBPs (I would think) would be a fairly large market share of people who work at Mozilla or use Firefox Why?
fooker 8y ago
It seems that nowadays Mozilla is interested in PR much more than the Firefox browser. Every other day, there is some announcement or the other.
stordoff 8y ago
> I tried to switch to Firefox, but was stymied by a bug where Firefox consumes 100%+ CPU on MacBook Pro Retinas. On the flip side, I've had a recurring bug in Chrome (until very recently) where for any long running session the Browser process will consume 100% of 1 core. I've had it across multiple machines and profiles, including a completely clean profile with no extensions - I've never managed to be able to nail down the common elements.
ssijak 8y ago
That is why I switched from Chrome to Safari for the daily driver, and Firefox for webdev stuff only
fooker 8y ago
I just tried this. Firefox with one tab (with gmail opened) takes 20% CPU. (and a helper process "FirefoxCP Web Content", which takes 50% CPU, wow.) Chrome with some 20 tabs, ~4-5% with all its processes (but a lot of ram, which I am fine with) This is for a 2015 13-inch Macbook pro.
LeonM 8y ago
With my 2012 rMBP (first gen retina, with nVidia GT 650M) I cannot play video on various websites using Firefox since about a year or two. Did an OS reinstall, switched to nVidia native drivers, nothing helps. It plays the first second of video, then freezes, audio does continue. Youtube does work, but performance is poor.

eslaught 8y ago

I don't know exactly what conditions are required to reproduce the bug, but it clearly does not apply to all rMBPs. I'm on a 15-inch 2016 rMBP and have been using Firefox on it successfully since I got it. Before that I spent a couple months on a 2013 rMBP, also no problems. Edit: For people who want to compare notes: High Sierra 10.13.6, Firefox 62.0.2, resolution is set to "Default for display" (which I think does mean it's doing interpolation of some sort). Automatic graphics switching is enabled. I don't have any trouble watching YouTube videos.

ericabiz 8y ago
It happens when you set your rMBP display to "Scaled" in display preferences, which is what most developers do. (Edit to your edit: Try the "More Space" option in your display preferences! It's amazing.)
- thom_nic 8y ago
  I tried this as well, can't reproduce. I've got a 15" "late 2013" rMBP, set display options to "more space." I've got a total of 45 tabs open between a couple different windows (I use the userChrome hack to re-enable multiple tab rows.) Cycled between tabs, refreshed, navigated around FB, GMail, etc. Can't get the CPU to do anything out of the ordinary.
- eslaught 8y ago
  Similar to the sibling comment, I can't seem to repro. I switched "More Space", restarted Firefox, loaded up a dozen or so tabs. I even watched a YouTube video for about 10 minutes. The video did cause CPU to jump a bit, but it dropped when I unloaded the tab, and nothing I've done (including the video) has caused any sort of lag like described in your first post or subsequent follow-up. I'm not sure what to say. I'm sure the issue is real, but it seems like we're missing something in the triage. There has to be something else that makes a difference.
- mercutio2 8y ago
  I very much doubt that “most” developers use “More space”. Most developers in their early 20s seems plausible, but even there, I surveyed my team’s younger cohort, and it was less than 50%.
blt 8y ago
I have my display set to "scaled". I get the worst slowdown when streaming videos. 2013 15" w/ Nvidia gpu.

briandear 8y ago

It’s a bit ironic you use Facebook but won’t use Chrome.

ericabiz 8y ago
Facebook is super relevant for our business. Not only do we advertise on there, but I also sit on Messenger and answer computer and phone repair questions from friends, and get tagged in "Help! My computer stopped working" types of posts. It drives good business to our repair shops. Facebook has also replaced forums for our industry (cell phone/computer repair), so it's how we find out about the latest trends and innovations. Yesterday I used a document posted on a private FB group to fix 3 2011 15" MacBook Pros with failing GPUs (previously considered "unfixable.") For the industry and business I'm in, there's no substitute.
- kbenson 8y ago
  That's interesting. I would have assumed that Reddit was a much better resource for at least the technical docs. Many subreddits include a crazy amount of very specific information about just about anything you can think of.
  - ericabiz 8y ago
    Totally agree in general; I've gone down the "Reddit rabbit hole" almost too many times to count. Private groups on FB can be more discerning about their membership, which is also what makes them interesting. Many of the cell phone repair groups I'm in require you to have a repair business, so the groups don't get flooded with what they call "plz bro" posts. (i.e. "How do I fix an iPhone screen?" beginner posts.) It also forms a tighter community; we pretty much all know each other on there, so we refer business back and forth a lot, and use Messenger heavily to buy, sell, and just chat about really obscure or weird repairs that come in the door.
signal11 8y ago
I use Facebook very occasionally, and when I do I use Firefox with containers enabled. Facebook and related sites get their own containers.

muizelaar 8y ago

Neither of those bugs have to do with 100% CPU on rMBP. Their about using an inefficient presentation path which increases GPU power usage. You can mitigate this today by setting gfx.compositor.glcontext.opaque to true. Further, Firefox Beta has additional texture upload performance improvements that will reduce cpu usage. If you're actually experiencing 100% cpu usage, post a profile using https://perf-html.io/ https://perf-html.io/ and I can try tell you why.

ericabiz 8y ago
Steps to reproduce: 1) Pick a rMBP. Any one. 2) Set display options - "more space" under System Preferences. 3) Run Firefox. Load any website. No extensions; safe mode doesn't matter. 4) 100%+ CPU, fans kick up and run high, system gets hot and slows to a crawl. Chrome and Safari run totally fine under the same conditions. It's documented pretty thoroughly in the first Bugzilla link I posted; the second one is an offshoot where they're trying to solve this specific issue. If you do happen to work at Mozilla, would really appreciate your help escalating. EDIT: I now have a perf file showing significant issues when clicking on a YouTube video. It gives an error when trying to upload it to the site, but if you contact me through email (in my HN profile), I can send it over.
- exikyut 8y ago
  I don't have a rMBP, and others who may be curious to help may not either. Uploading performance profiles from various websites to the mentioned URL will give everyone something to poke at.
- mycelium 8y ago
  I spent a few minutes trying to replicate on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) with Firefox 62.0.2 and could not replicate, browsing a number of resource intense sites.
  - ericabiz 8y ago
    Interesting, as this is the same MBP I have, and same Firefox version. I now have a perf file showing the issue. Can't upload it (it gives an error), but would be happy to send it to anyone who thinks they can help.

anonymfus 8y ago

> Given rMBPs (I would think) would be a fairly large market share of people who work at Mozilla or use Firefox Why?

fooker 8y ago

It seems that nowadays Mozilla is interested in PR much more than the Firefox browser. Every other day, there is some announcement or the other.

stordoff 8y ago

> I tried to switch to Firefox, but was stymied by a bug where Firefox consumes 100%+ CPU on MacBook Pro Retinas. On the flip side, I've had a recurring bug in Chrome (until very recently) where for any long running session the Browser process will consume 100% of 1 core. I've had it across multiple machines and profiles, including a completely clean profile with no extensions - I've never managed to be able to nail down the common elements.

ssijak 8y ago

That is why I switched from Chrome to Safari for the daily driver, and Firefox for webdev stuff only

fooker 8y ago

I just tried this. Firefox with one tab (with gmail opened) takes 20% CPU. (and a helper process "FirefoxCP Web Content", which takes 50% CPU, wow.) Chrome with some 20 tabs, ~4-5% with all its processes (but a lot of ram, which I am fine with) This is for a 2015 13-inch Macbook pro.

LeonM 8y ago

With my 2012 rMBP (first gen retina, with nVidia GT 650M) I cannot play video on various websites using Firefox since about a year or two. Did an OS reinstall, switched to nVidia native drivers, nothing helps. It plays the first second of video, then freezes, audio does continue. Youtube does work, but performance is poor.