Why Does Chrome Have so Many Processes? Explained

Are you experiencing slow processing speed on your computer?

We often take a look at our task manager to see the process and RAM usage. It can help us find out what is causing our system to work below the expected speed.

On a similar voyage, I encountered that Chrome has many more running processes than the number of open tabs. It resulted in raising the following question:

Why does Chrome have so many processes?

I snooped in every possible place to find out why Chrome needs so many processes. It can be troublesome for some of us to find the correct place to look for answers.

Therefore, I did the necessary research and answered all the related questions for you.

So, without any further ado, let’s see what Chrome is cooking.

Why Does Chrome Need So Many Processes?

The one-word answer is “Parallel Processing.” Okay, that’s two words, but you get the idea.

The term is self-explanatory. Still, I will take the liberty to explain it further.

What is Parallel Processing?

In computing terms, parallel processing is a method of breaking a complex task into multiple independent pieces. Each piece is processed simultaneously yet separately. The CPU is interlinked, for the results need to be combined. It helps to complete the process in less time.

Let’s look at an analogous example. You have three bags to carry from place A to B. You take 10 minutes to complete one trip. Now, if you hold three bags at a time, you will be exhausted by the end of the journey. If you want to go light, you will take three times more time.

So, what is the optimal solution?

Ask two more people to accompany you. Now, you do the process in 10 minutes, and no one is exhausted.

Now that you get the concept of assigning pieces of a task to multiple processors. Let us see how Chrome uses it.

Why Chrome Create so Many Processes?

Usually, a web browser uses a single process from your computer. As a result, if any tab or function fails, the whole browser would shut down.

However, Chrome creates a separate task for each tab and extension. Therefore, if you open a buggy website in any tab, the tab would crash instead of the whole browser. Thus, saving a lot of trouble for you.

Another way it works in our favor is by providing better surfing speed. When a tab is opened, our CPU allocates the memory to that particular tab. So, you get faster responses. Otherwise, it would have taken a much longer time to process simple tasks such as liking a post on Facebook.

Where to Look for Chrome Processes?

There are two ways you can look at Chrome’s active tasks. 

Windows Task Manager

You can find all active programs in Windows task manager. There are multiple sections, such as Apps, Background Processes, and Windows Processes.

If you don’t know what you are getting into, I recommend keeping a distance from the latter two. We will only deal with the Apps section. Let us get there, step by step.

Firstly, open the Windows Task Manager by Clicking “Alt+Ctrl+Del” simultaneously. It should open the Security Options. 

Here, select Task Manager.

Or, you can press “Ctrl+Shift+Delete” as a quick shortcut. 

Or, right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager.

Here, you will find the active apps under the Apps section in the “Processes” tab. Chrome usually has a number in front of it, which determines the total number of active Chrome tasks. Click on the arrow located on the Chrome icon’s left side to open a drop-down menu.

You can find all the individual tasks separately here. To end any task, select it and click the “End Task” button on the bottom right.

The only drawback of using Windows task manager is not getting the name of each process. Therefore, it isn’t easy to judge which tab or process you are about to close.

To overcome this problem, we have a better alternative.

Chrome Task Manager

Chrome tries to make the browser as serviceable as possible without adding unnecessary elements. One useful feature of Chrome is its task manager.

Yes, Chrome has an in-built task manager that shows all the active tasks under a single section. Follow the steps to open it in your browser.

• Click on the “Menu” button. (Three vertical dots at the top-right corner)

• Now, select “More Tools.”

• Finally, click on “Task Manager.”

You can also use the keyboard shortcut, i.e., “Shift+Esc.”

Here, you will find a different task for each tab and extension. Some of it is also allocated to various background processes. You can select any unwanted process and click on the “End process” button to stop it. Chrome names every task in here. Therefore, it is simple to understand which one to stop.

Make sure you save any ongoing work related to the task before closing it. 

How Do I Stop Multiple Chrome Process?

I am showing an example below for clarification. Remember, the address might change on different computers. Also, it is necessary to do this on a shortcut. Therefore, create one if you don’t have one already.

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” 

The above address should look like the following.

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” –process-per-site

Afterward, close Chrome entirely from the Windows task manager and relaunch it using the shortcut to see the effect. Chrome will not create a new task for each tab now. Keep in mind that this will cause a total shut down of the app if any function stops working. You can read this guide if your Chrome keeps crashing.

You can revert the changes by quickly removing the “–process-per-site” text from the shortcut. 

Conclusion

Chrome uses the concept of parallel processing for our benefit. However, that results in heavy RAM usage if you open 20-30 tabs at once. We mentioned a few techniques to reduce RAM usage. I strongly recommend manually ending unnecessary tasks instead of going for a permanent solution. Thus, you won’t have to bother about data loss if any tab stops working.