I've posted about this before I feel like I've narrowed down that this is a webcam issue.
Important note! The CPU only goes to 100% for a few seconds and then returns to 50-60%. That is the new behaviour.
I've been experiencing this for the last few weeks.
I'll be in a video meeting and my CPU will max out for a few seconds, then returning to what seems to be normal.
(Generally video meetings do eat up a bit more CPU, usually in the 50% to 60% level.)
This CPU spike seems new.
I've experienced this both with specific video programs like Zoom, and browser based ones like Google Meet and Hopin.
At first I thought maybe it was a window manager piece and installed Xubuntu-desktop to have an alternative to the Ubuntu desktop. It hasn't changed the situation.
I've also gone from Firefox to Chromium. That seemed to help a bit with a Hopin instance, but only somewhat.
The System Monitor usually shows Zoom or 'Web Content' on Firefox as the CPU eater when things are maxing, but again, it spikes and then returns, so I'm wondering if it's actually something to do with the webcam.
I have noticed that turning off my webcam does prevent the spikes, but this isn't a viable long-term solution for me.
But that does make me wonder if it's the webcam integration somehow.
Is anyone else experiencing this? I've been wondering if it's a conflict with some recent updates. Maybe it's unique to this specific webcam?
Does any one know of ways to check the webcam specifically? Logs to detect if it's the webcam that is somehow pushing cpu cycles to whatever program is accessing it? (Zoom, video chats through browsers etc.)
My next steps:
try an external webcam (the one I'm experiencing this on is built-in)
try using Ubuntu Resetter to see if there's some conflict I can't quite detect, and spend some time re-installing things.
Upgrade to Ubuntu 21.04 to see if it's caught and fixed there.
switch over to BunsenLabs and see if it's Ubuntu specific. (Though it could also be Debian-specific...)
Update: I've tried an external Logitech webcam plugged in via USB, and although I've found the same spiking, the interval of the spike is generally less.
Again, it seems clear that the webcam is the culprit, or rather, the integration of the webcam to the programs in question.
I wonder if this has been fixed in Ubuntu 21.04?
I did end up upgrading to Ubuntu 21.04, and the problem has resolved itself.