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These graphs show the GPU usage patterns of the Flash Player plugin for Firefox and Chrome, respectively. The test involved playing a 30-second HD Facebook video.

As the graphs show, Firefox uses over 40% GPU during playback. After playback, (sitting paused), it drops to idle or near-idle.

Chrome uses much less GPU, as shown in the second graph. The 2nd play was obtained by using the Play Again button. Even though it is slightly higher than the first play, both times through use significantly less GPU resources than Firefox.

Both browsers have the latest installation/version of Flash player, and are running on Windows 7 x64 with Windows Aero enabled. The GPU is an Intel integrated card. Rebooting changes nothing.

Why the discrepancy?

Firefox

Firefox Firefox

Chrome

Chrome Chrome

No memory graphs, but Chrome's total usage (with nothing else running) was approximately 1/2 of Firefox's total usage.

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  • The newest versions of Firefox support native hardware video acceleration. I have no idea if Chrome does this, but I'd guess it doesn't - it explains the difference nicely. You could just try disabling that in Firefox to see what it does, though. That said - what on earth is your question here? I don't actually see a question. Do you just want to know "Why is this"?
    – Shinrai
    Commented Dec 27, 2011 at 22:31
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    It's impossible to make comparisons with just the GPU graph. You gotta look at the CPU and memory graphs also.
    – surfasb
    Commented Dec 27, 2011 at 23:50
  • I'm at lost. Now I'm curious about my machine. . .
    – surfasb
    Commented Dec 30, 2011 at 5:12

1 Answer 1

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The designers of the software assume that the whole GPU is theirs. They use every bit of GPU that's available to do the best job of decompression, artifact removal, interpolation and smoothing, and so on.

You could just as well wonder why Chrome is wasting so much of your GPU power. In fact, I'll bet Chrome is doing a lot of work with your CPU that Firefox does with the GPU.

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