Macbook Pro getting hot because of Chrome

[Khaleal]

Hey,

So I'm having an issue with my MacBook Pro (15" Mid 2014, i7 2.5GHz 16GB RAM GT 750M) running HS (10.13.6).
I really like Chrome, it's a fast, secure, reliable browser, and I really like Google ecosystem. But it makes my MacBook Pro run hot.
As soon as I open Chrome and start browsing (Youtube, Facebook, etc..), I can feel that the MacBook is getting hotter, the keyboard feels warm and not very pleasant to type on. I checked temperatures using Intel Power Gadget and it reports 50C to 63C most of the time while using Chrome depending on the work being done (mostly casual browsing)..

So I did an experiment, I moved to Safari exclusively for two days, and I can report that the MacBook feels cool most of the time, with temperatures fluctuating between 40C-52C while browsing using Safari.

You might say just move to Safari and problem solved! But Safari has some issues that drive me crazy, to mention a few:

1. When I use the trackpad swipe with 2 fingers gesture to go back, Safari refreshes the previous webpage. This issue doesn't happen if I use the regular "Back" button.
2. It's slower than Chrome. How much slower? Much slower! to the point where I can feel the slowness without the need to compare the browsers side by side or do a speed test.
3. It doesn't use less RAM as Apple say, it uses as much RAM as Chrome and sometimes even more (but that's workable, as I have 16GB of RAM).
4. Youtube full screen animation in Safari is a joke! If I click on the full screen button in Youtube, the full-screen video will open in its own desktop, and if I click on the "Exit Full Screen", it'll minimise the video, and for some reason go back to the main desktop, and then go back to the Safari "full screen" desktop. It does all of this using slow and annoying animations.

So some might say just go back to using Chrome as 50-60C isn't too bad for a MacBook and won't hurt the CPU, and while that might be true, the difference between 50-60C and 40-50C is significant because of MacBook all aluminium body design, as it transfers heat to the aluminium body which makes it warm, making it unpleasant to work with (especially typing) and ruins the whole experience.

Note: the MacBook doesn't have any overheating issues, the thermal paste is fine, and fans are clean. Both browsers doesn't have any extensions installed. And this is a clean installation of HS.

Anyone having similar issues? and if yes, were you able to resolve them (or at least some of them).

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Chrome on OS X is notoriously more resource-intensive than Safari. It's the beauty of native apps.

This a fact of life. You might notice that the battery will last 1-2 hours less when on Chrome.

The way I solved it is I have both, use Safari primarily and when I need to watch a video or something else I'll use Chrome (and close it right after)

 

[Samuelsan2001]

You only have two choices really use chrome and accept it’s a resource hog that heats up your computer or swap to safari.

 

[Fishrrman]

The problem:
"Macbook Pro getting hot because of Chrome"

The solution:
STOP using Chrome, and use something else.

The result:
Cooler computer.

 

[jackoatmon]

Chrome's a dumpster fire. Delete that garbage off your machine.

 

[nerowolfe19]

Give AppPolice a try. It's free and allows you to put a leash on cpu utilization on a per-application basis. Start with a figure like 50% and work your way up and down until you find the desired balance between performance and heat generation.

I often use it on Sierra to curb FF's enthusiasm and it works like a charm. Hopefully HS doesn't break its code since it hasn't been updated for a while.