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Evernote Helper Renderer CPU Usage


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This issue was reported almost a year ago. CPU usage is high all the time and off the charts sometimes well over 100%. Latest i9 macbook and OSX.

 

Is this going to be fixed or do I just go find another notes app? Why the hell does a notes taking app use more CPU to render than xcode? Every time I try to switch to evernote there's some weird issue. First it was no templates and image resizing (long while back), and now is CPU usage. I cannot have this level of CPU usage in my day to day.

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EN is running inside of a framework, which basically is a browser without a user interface. The one EN uses is based on Chrome. Ringing a bell concerning the use of resources ?

Besides 100% is measured per CPU core, and your i9 has 8 of them to heat the planet.

If it stays (too) high, the only option currently is to quit (cmd-Q) the app and restart it.

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5 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

"The one EN uses is based on Chrome. Ringing a bell concerning the use of resources ?"

Yes, and that's the reason I avoid chrome as long as I could. And yes heat the planet is right... can't keep this macbook on my lap to be sure.

However - this is their problem, not mine. So I get the why, but why should any user care? I want it stop, and it doesn't work for me at all. Even Chrome doesn't burn CPU like this does.

In the end, if this is going to be how evernote just "works", this plus other issues are a deal killer for me, free or otherwise. My work just isn't conducive to poor resource management. I do a lot of xcode work and Final Cut Pro. I need as much CPU as I can get... without heat. lol

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Basic design decision by EN … you can use the web client in Safari or FF to tame it somewhat when you need all CPU for something else. In fact it is a real option, nearly on feature parity to the installed client.

Or start saving for one of these next wonderous MX machines they are just breeding in Cupertino. The next bunch should release soon - cool stuff for sure.

Intel is toast(ing).

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7 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Basic design decision by EN … you can use the web client in Safari or FF to tame it somewhat when you need all CPU for something else. In fact it is a real option, nearly on feature parity to the installed client.

The web option is not a bad idea. After reviewing literally every notes app on the market, the only two I would call viable are evernote and apple notes. I like the evernotes features, but the cpu is an issue, and the calendar feature is completely broken and useless. It doesn't even make calendar entries and only connects to google calendar. 

However as a work around, the web at times and desktop app at others can work (like during my planning / review times). Thanks.

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About calendar: One suggestion from the forum was to open a free Google Calendar, link the Apple calendar to it, and then link the Google calendar to EN.

No idea how it works, I avoid all Google services.

For note taking if you are on Mac & iOS only DEVONThink could be an alternative. The difference it is self hosted, syncs via iCloud.

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On 9/17/2021 at 7:34 PM, PinkElephant said:

EN is running inside of a framework, which basically is a browser without a user interface...

That's interesting - good to know, PinkElephant. The icing on the cake is that the process isn't just consuming resources while the app is being used. No, it is often the #1 process even when Evernote is in the background.

For Evernote to say that the framework is based on Chrome and is extremely inefficient is kind of like saying, "math is hard." Yes, sure it is. So you have to sit down and study until you can do it.

It's the same with using a particular software framework. If it's not fit for purpose, you have to fix the problem. I would be embarrassed as a developer to deliver anything like this. Yes, Evernote is complex, but it isn't all that complex. There are many apps written by tiny development shops that are outstanding: efficient, stable, and capable at a similar level. Surely Evernote could do this, too. The fact that they don't is because it's their choice.

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The framework is called Electron, you can search for the website or look it up on Wikipedia.

It allows to develop a multiplatform-app without the usual problems of the OS adaption.

EN had native apps before - maintaining it brought the company to it’s knees.

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4 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

The framework is called Electron, you can search for the website or look it up on Wikipedia.

It allows to develop a multiplatform-app without the usual problems of the OS adaption.

EN had native apps before - maintaining it brought the company to it’s knees.

Yes, that is always tough. I didn't know that this played such a big role in the company's difficulties.

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Well, they had to match 4 major OS updates every year, plus 3 different browsers, thinking about the web clipper.

Apple cut support for 32bit apps entirely, so the legacy Mac app is already 64Bit - Windows legacy is still 32bit, not even allowing for dark mode. 2 years ago web clipper disappeared from Safari browsers on Macs for 6 weeks. Apple launched the Safari update with iOS on Macs as well, and EN was not ready. So I think they were working at a limit, trying to support outdated code with ever increasing complexity.

Does not help users with a high CPU load now, but may explain why they made the move.

On my relatively new Mac v10 runs OK. So maybe the ongoing replacement of hardware that happens all the time will solve the problem over time.

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9 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Does not help users with a high CPU load now, but may explain why they made the move

Yes, this kind of thing can eat you alive.

It would be really nifty, though, to not have the renderer (of all things) running at 30% when the app is in the background without the window showing. But in the big picture, given the choice of an inefficient Evernote or no Evernote at all, I would choose the inefficient one every time. And maybe they will get around to fixing it at some point.

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  • 2 months later...

Really hope Evernote does something about this.  Sometimes even typing in Evernote takes 10+ seconds to appear when this process is running out of control.  Just had to close Evernote as it was using 100+% CPU for the last hour.  Keep having to close it all the time, eventually I'll just stop opening it up again...

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Don‘t just close it, really quit the app. Only this will stop a background process.

Just for the protocol, I don‘t have that problem. From reports in the forum it looks as if it was (mainly) corrected with one of the releases around v10.25. They made several steps, so hard to tell. Current release is 10.27 - maybe you should uninstall the EN app if the problem persists for you.

Use the app AppCleaner to do this, and check all components for deletion. After that, restart the Mac and make a fresh install, using the direct download from the EN website.

Hint: I had problems with downloading the app installer lately with Safari. Did work with Firefox.

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