Illustrator 100% CPU

[Phil Vas]

Hi everyone, I have a 2014 iMac and after the last illustrator update is very slow and fan keeps switching on. On the activity monitor something called Adobe Illustrator Web Content takes 100% CPU! I installed and reinstalled the app, removed and reset preferences, nothing works. Does anyone know what Illustrator Web Content is and why it takes 100% of CPU? Can it be disabled or deleted?

Thanks!

[bethg8261858]

I'm having a similar issue with a 2016 MacBook Pro. It's not slow, but the fan is running constantly and I'm also seeing "Adobe Illustrator Web Content" in my activity monitor. Would love to find a solution...

Thanks!

[Phil Vas · Accepted solution]

Solved the problem by uninstalling the latest version and installing  previous version. Now it works fine!

[kevin stohlmeyer · Accepted solution]

Hi @Phil Vas your issue could be your GPU is outdated so the application could be relying completely on CPU to render graphics.

On the "high-end" 2014 iMacs came with a Radeon R9 M295X GPU which clocks in at 750 ops/sec.

Current recommended minimums are 2,000 ops/sec.

You can try resolving the CPU usage with the suggestions on this page:

https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/high_cpu_usage_cephtmlengine.html

But there comes a point with a 9 year old machine that you have to make a hard choice - stay on the last stable/compatible version of the software and not upgrade or purchase newer equipment that is able to effectively run current software.

[Phil Vas]

Yes thats right! Solved the problem by uninstalling the latest version and installing a previous version. Now it works fine!

Thanks!

[brananan]

I think there's something else going on here. I have the same issue on a 2019 Macbook Pro with a Radeon Pro 5500M.

[kevin stohlmeyer]

Hi @brananan what OS version are you running? Monterey or older or Ventura?

[brananan]

Catalina

[kevin stohlmeyer]

What do you have set under Apple System Preferences/Energy Saver/Battery Health?

https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/disable-macos-catalina-battery-health-management/

[brananan]

I have that checked. Are you saying it should be unchecked?

[kevin stohlmeyer]

I would disable it.

[brananan]

Alright, I'll consider it if the problem persists. For now I just switched to the previous version of Illustrator and that is working fine, so I think it might be a bug that may get resolved in the future. I don't want to disable the battery health feature if I can avoid it, since I am in the exact scenario it is intended for (leaving my laptop plugged in most of the time)

[kevin stohlmeyer]

You can also check (in Catalina) your Energy Saver/Battery settings to disable Automatic Graphics Switching.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202043

I dont think this is a bug - as software needs increase there comes a tipping point where Illustrator  is using more GPU resources due to the updated 3D capabilities and general improvements and older machines (not saying your 2019 MBP is old) will become burdened.

Eventually there comes a fork in the road - stay on your current setup on a stable version that runs without user modifications, or update your OS or eventually your hardware to a more compatible ecosystem that can run newer releases without issue. Again, not saying you are at this point but with Catalina coming up on 4 years old and three newer OS releases - there will come a point where that OS no longer meets requirements for Creative Cloud.

[brananan]

Sorry, but I disagree. The version I was struggling with, 27.3.1, had the"Adobe Illustrator Web Content" using 100% of my CPU even with no files open. Now that I've reverted to version 27.2, that % is down to zero, even while I work on a large file. I find it hard to believe that whatever changed is normal behavior.

[kevin stohlmeyer]

The reason why I said "I dont think its a bug" is this isnt being reported wide spread by users.

I am on Illustrator 2023 27.3.1 on Mac OS Ventura and even with a seriously complex Adobe Stock image I am not seeing spikes in Adobe Illustrator Web Content:

I also tested on my MBP 2019 last night at home and did not see the same issues you are - but I am on Monterey on that system not Catalina.

So when attempting to narrow down the issue, the question comes up - what is different between user X and Y? Version 27.3 specifically had a lot of changes to 3D rendering/lighting and other features.

Catalina and Big Sur were also notorious for having memory leaks - the solution for that was to upgrade to Monterey.

In the past the culprit has been the CEPHTML engine which is connected to plugins and other web-related content (library syncing, etc).

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/whats-new/2023-2.html

[blastman2013]

I have been having this issue since updating to the latest Illustrator 27.4, my set up is a refurbished Mac Mini 2018 running Catalina 10.15.7 - I will investigate updating the OS, or else installing the older version of Illustrator and report what i find... 

[blastman2013]

Ok, so I thought I would test this: I un-installed and re-installed the same version. still has the same problem immediately upon opening any document. I then reverted back to 27.3.1 and still the same 100% CPU thing.

I have now installed 27.2 and seems to be OK for now.
Chances are I will need to upgrade to Big Sur because I have had other issues with my computer that seem to be OS related. 

[nou.lionandchild]

But it's not Illustrator main process, that is so CPU heavy, but an "Adobe Illustrator Web Content" process. This process can be manually killed and Illustrator continues to function without it just fine. I can't find any information about what this process even is. I'm on 2017 MacBook and Catalina, and this problem started only with 27.5

[Stackola]

Same with Catalina and  27.5

And I'm sitting on catalina ...only because Illustrator runs much faster... 🙂 

[Stackola]

Do you have multiple displays?

[nou.lionandchild]

No, built in screen on a laptop or a single display on Mini.

[Stackola]

For a while I thought it was about disconnecting the external screen, because I see something about the screen in the logs, but I see it's not. I just open any file and the process starts

[nou.lionandchild]

From what I’ve been told on usersvoice forum, this process is only used for comments functionality, so can be safely killed if you don’t need them.

Sent from my iPhone

[Stackola]

yes yes, I'm killing it, but I'd like to turn it off completely

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi All, @Stackola @nou.lionandchild @blastman2013 @brananan 

We apologize for the inconvenience. Our product team is aware of this and is currently working on a solution. To receive updates regarding the progress of the resolution, would you please upvote the UserVoice (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/46598113) and add your comments? Additionally, we have identified that this issue is occurring with macOS Catalina, and updating the macOS Big Sur or above may fix the issue.

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

Best,
Anshul Saini