Intermittent browser freezes - "The GPU process exited"

ferdiG

I know it's next to pointless reporting this, but anyway:

I'm experiencing intermittent browser freezes when using hardware acceleration. I cannot pinpoint what exactly triggers the problem.

The ~/.xsession-errors file shows the following:

[0103/143029.062579:WARNING:exception_snapshot_linux.cc(427)] Unhandled signal -1
[4100806:4100806:0103/143029.180058:ERROR:gpu_process_host.cc(969)] GPU process exited unexpectedly: exit_code=512
[4117216:4117216:0103/143029.237833:ERROR:gpu_init.cc(457)] Passthrough is not supported, GL is desktop, ANGLE is
[4117216:4117216:0103/143029.250873:ERROR:sandbox_linux.cc(376)] InitializeSandbox() called with multiple threads in proce
ss gpu-process.

I'm running Vivaldi 5.0.2497.32 on Arch Linux (installed via pacman).

The command line is:

/opt/vivaldi/vivaldi-bin --use-gl=desktop --enable-features=VaapiVideoDecoder,Vulkan --disable-features=UseOzonePlatform --enable-crashpad

And before anybody suggests "Just disable the hw acceleration! Problem solved!!" you might want to consider how bloody slow this browser runs without hardware acceleration. Some webpages are basically unusable without acceleration.

Below is the output of vivaldi://gpu:

Graphics Feature Status
Canvas: Hardware accelerated
Canvas out-of-process rasterization: Enabled
Compositing: Hardware accelerated
Multiple Raster Threads: Enabled
Out-of-process Rasterization: Hardware accelerated
OpenGL: Enabled
Rasterization: Hardware accelerated on all pages
Raw Draw: Disabled
Skia Renderer: Enabled
Video Decode: Hardware accelerated
Vulkan: Disabled
WebGL: Hardware accelerated
WebGL2: Hardware accelerated
Driver Bug Workarounds
adjust_src_dst_region_for_blitframebuffer
clear_uniforms_before_first_program_use
count_all_in_varyings_packing
disable_post_sub_buffers_for_onscreen_surfaces
enable_webgl_timer_query_extensions
exit_on_context_lost
msaa_is_slow
rely_on_implicit_sync_for_swap_buffers
disabled_extension_GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced
disabled_extension_GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced_coherent
disabled_extension_GL_MESA_framebuffer_flip_y
Problems Detected
Clear uniforms before first program use on all platforms: 124764, 349137
Applied Workarounds: clear_uniforms_before_first_program_use
Mesa drivers in Linux handle varyings without static use incorrectly: 333885
Applied Workarounds: count_all_in_varyings_packing
Disable partial swaps on Mesa drivers (detected with GL_RENDERER): 339493
Applied Workarounds: disable_post_sub_buffers_for_onscreen_surfaces
On Intel GPUs MSAA performance is not acceptable for GPU rasterization: 527565
Applied Workarounds: msaa_is_slow
Disable partial swaps on Mesa drivers (detected with GL_VERSION): 339493
Applied Workarounds: disable_post_sub_buffers_for_onscreen_surfaces
adjust src/dst region if blitting pixels outside framebuffer on Linux Intel: 664740
Applied Workarounds: adjust_src_dst_region_for_blitframebuffer
Disable KHR_blend_equation_advanced until cc shaders are updated: 661715
Applied Workarounds: disable(GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced), disable(GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced_coherent)
Expose WebGL's disjoint_timer_query extensions on platforms with site isolation: 808744, 870491
Applied Workarounds: enable_webgl_timer_query_extensions
Some drivers can't recover after OUT_OF_MEM and context lost: 893177
Applied Workarounds: exit_on_context_lost
Avoid waiting on a egl fence before swapping buffers and rely on implicit sync on Intel GPUs: 938286
Applied Workarounds: rely_on_implicit_sync_for_swap_buffers
Disable GL_MESA_framebuffer_flip_y for desktop GL: 964010
Applied Workarounds: disable(GL_MESA_framebuffer_flip_y)
Version Information
Data exported	2022-01-03T13:50:31.915Z
Chrome version	Chrome/96.0.4664.113
Operating system	Linux 5.15.7-arch1-1
Software rendering list URL	https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/ef0b54e9e4b9d7e7c95166fb8c658ea6dce24171/gpu/config/software_rendering_list.json
Driver bug list URL	https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/ef0b54e9e4b9d7e7c95166fb8c658ea6dce24171/gpu/config/gpu_driver_bug_list.json
ANGLE commit id	unknown hash
2D graphics backend	Skia/96 5c2790986b220ac4f4dcc9d781f4164db30e4067
Command Line	/usr/bin/vivaldi-stable --use-gl=desktop --enable-features=VaapiVideoDecoder,Vulkan --disable-features=UseOzonePlatform --enable-crashpad --flag-switches-begin --enable-gpu-rasterization --enable-zero-copy --ignore-gpu-blocklist --enable-features=VaapiVideoDecoder,Vulkan,CanvasOopRasterization --flag-switches-end --save-page-as-mhtml
Driver Information
Initialization time	70
In-process GPU	false
Passthrough Command Decoder	false
Sandboxed	false
GPU0	VENDOR= 0x8086 [Intel], DEVICE=0x1916 [Mesa Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2)] *ACTIVE*
Optimus	false
AMD switchable	false
Driver vendor	Mesa
Driver version	21.3.1
GPU CUDA compute capability major version	0
Pixel shader version	4.60
Vertex shader version	4.60
Max. MSAA samples	16
Machine model name	
Machine model version	
GL_VENDOR	Intel
GL_RENDERER	Mesa Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2)
GL_VERSION	4.6 (Core Profile) Mesa 21.3.1
GL_EXTENSIONS	GL_3DFX_texture_compression_FXT1 GL_AMD_conservative_depth GL_AMD_depth_clamp_separate GL_AMD_draw_buffers_blend GL_AMD_gpu_shader_int64 GL_AMD_multi_draw_indirect GL_AMD_performance_monitor GL_AMD_pinned_memory GL_AMD_query_buffer_object GL_AMD_seamless_cubemap_per_texture GL_AMD_shader_stencil_export GL_AMD_shader_trinary_minmax GL_AMD_texture_texture4 GL_AMD_vertex_shader_layer GL_AMD_vertex_shader_viewport_index GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt3 GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt5 GL_ARB_ES2_compatibility GL_ARB_ES3_1_compatibility GL_ARB_ES3_2_compatibility GL_ARB_ES3_compatibility GL_ARB_arrays_of_arrays GL_ARB_base_instance GL_ARB_blend_func_extended GL_ARB_buffer_storage GL_ARB_clear_buffer_object GL_ARB_clear_texture GL_ARB_clip_control GL_ARB_compressed_texture_pixel_storage GL_ARB_compute_shader GL_ARB_compute_variable_group_size GL_ARB_conditional_render_inverted GL_ARB_conservative_depth GL_ARB_copy_buffer GL_ARB_copy_image GL_ARB_cull_distance GL_ARB_debug_output GL_ARB_depth_buffer_float GL_ARB_depth_clamp GL_ARB_derivative_control GL_ARB_direct_state_access GL_ARB_draw_buffers GL_ARB_draw_buffers_blend GL_ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex GL_ARB_draw_indirect GL_ARB_draw_instanced GL_ARB_enhanced_layouts GL_ARB_explicit_attrib_location GL_ARB_explicit_uniform_location GL_ARB_fragment_coord_conventions GL_ARB_fragment_layer_viewport GL_ARB_fragment_shader GL_ARB_fragment_shader_interlock GL_ARB_framebuffer_no_attachments GL_ARB_framebuffer_object GL_ARB_framebuffer_sRGB GL_ARB_get_program_binary GL_ARB_get_texture_sub_image GL_ARB_gl_spirv GL_ARB_gpu_shader5 GL_ARB_gpu_shader_fp64 GL_ARB_gpu_shader_int64 GL_ARB_half_float_pixel GL_ARB_half_float_vertex GL_ARB_indirect_parameters GL_ARB_instanced_arrays GL_ARB_internalformat_query GL_ARB_internalformat_query2 GL_ARB_invalidate_subdata GL_ARB_map_buffer_alignment GL_ARB_map_buffer_range GL_ARB_multi_bind GL_ARB_multi_draw_indirect GL_ARB_occlusion_query2 GL_ARB_parallel_shader_compile GL_ARB_pipeline_statistics_query GL_ARB_pixel_buffer_object GL_ARB_point_sprite GL_ARB_polygon_offset_clamp GL_ARB_post_depth_coverage GL_ARB_program_interface_query GL_ARB_provoking_vertex GL_ARB_query_buffer_object GL_ARB_robust_buffer_access_behavior GL_ARB_robustness GL_ARB_sample_shading GL_ARB_sampler_objects GL_ARB_seamless_cube_map GL_ARB_seamless_cubemap_per_texture GL_ARB_separate_shader_objects GL_ARB_shader_atomic_counter_ops GL_ARB_shader_atomic_counters GL_ARB_shader_ballot GL_ARB_shader_bit_encoding GL_ARB_shader_clock GL_ARB_shader_draw_parameters GL_ARB_shader_group_vote GL_ARB_shader_image_load_store GL_ARB_shader_image_size GL_ARB_shader_objects GL_ARB_shader_precision GL_ARB_shader_stencil_export GL_ARB_shader_storage_buffer_object GL_ARB_shader_subroutine GL_ARB_shader_texture_image_samples GL_ARB_shader_texture_lod GL_ARB_shader_viewport_layer_array GL_ARB_shading_language_420pack GL_ARB_shading_language_include GL_ARB_shading_language_packing GL_ARB_spirv_extensions GL_ARB_stencil_texturing GL_ARB_sync GL_ARB_tessellation_shader GL_ARB_texture_barrier GL_ARB_texture_buffer_object GL_ARB_texture_buffer_object_rgb32 GL_ARB_texture_buffer_range GL_ARB_texture_compression_bptc GL_ARB_texture_compression_rgtc GL_ARB_texture_cube_map_array GL_ARB_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_ARB_texture_float GL_ARB_texture_gather GL_ARB_texture_mirror_clamp_to_edge GL_ARB_texture_multisample GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two GL_ARB_texture_query_levels GL_ARB_texture_query_lod GL_ARB_texture_rectangle GL_ARB_texture_rg GL_ARB_texture_rgb10_a2ui GL_ARB_texture_stencil8 GL_ARB_texture_storage GL_ARB_texture_storage_multisample GL_ARB_texture_swizzle GL_ARB_texture_view GL_ARB_timer_query GL_ARB_transform_feedback2 GL_ARB_transform_feedback3 GL_ARB_transform_feedback_instanced GL_ARB_transform_feedback_overflow_query GL_ARB_uniform_buffer_object GL_ARB_vertex_array_bgra GL_ARB_vertex_array_object GL_ARB_vertex_attrib_64bit GL_ARB_vertex_attrib_binding GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object GL_ARB_vertex_shader GL_ARB_vertex_type_10f_11f_11f_rev GL_ARB_vertex_type_2_10_10_10_rev GL_ARB_viewport_array GL_ATI_blend_equation_separate GL_ATI_texture_float GL_EXT_EGL_image_storage GL_EXT_EGL_sync GL_EXT_abgr GL_EXT_blend_equation_separate GL_EXT_demote_to_helper_invocation GL_EXT_draw_buffers2 GL_EXT_draw_instanced GL_EXT_framebuffer_blit GL_EXT_framebuffer_multisample GL_EXT_framebuffer_multisample_blit_scaled GL_EXT_framebuffer_object GL_EXT_framebuffer_sRGB GL_EXT_memory_object GL_EXT_memory_object_fd GL_EXT_packed_depth_stencil GL_EXT_packed_float GL_EXT_pixel_buffer_object GL_EXT_polygon_offset_clamp GL_EXT_provoking_vertex GL_EXT_semaphore GL_EXT_semaphore_fd GL_EXT_shader_framebuffer_fetch GL_EXT_shader_framebuffer_fetch_non_coherent GL_EXT_shader_integer_mix GL_EXT_shader_samples_identical GL_EXT_texture_array GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1 GL_EXT_texture_compression_rgtc GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_integer GL_EXT_texture_sRGB GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_R8 GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_decode GL_EXT_texture_shadow_lod GL_EXT_texture_shared_exponent GL_EXT_texture_snorm GL_EXT_texture_swizzle GL_EXT_timer_query GL_EXT_transform_feedback GL_EXT_vertex_array_bgra GL_EXT_vertex_attrib_64bit GL_IBM_multimode_draw_arrays GL_INTEL_blackhole_render GL_INTEL_conservative_rasterization GL_INTEL_performance_query GL_INTEL_shader_atomic_float_minmax GL_INTEL_shader_integer_functions2 GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced_coherent GL_KHR_context_flush_control GL_KHR_debug GL_KHR_no_error GL_KHR_parallel_shader_compile GL_KHR_robust_buffer_access_behavior GL_KHR_robustness GL_KHR_texture_compression_astc_ldr GL_KHR_texture_compression_astc_sliced_3d GL_MESA_framebuffer_flip_y GL_MESA_pack_invert GL_MESA_shader_integer_functions GL_MESA_texture_signed_rgba GL_NV_compute_shader_derivatives GL_NV_conditional_render GL_NV_copy_image GL_NV_depth_clamp GL_NV_fragment_shader_interlock GL_NV_packed_depth_stencil GL_NV_texture_barrier GL_OES_EGL_image GL_S3_s3tc
Disabled Extensions	GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced_coherent GL_MESA_framebuffer_flip_y
Disabled WebGL Extensions	
Window system binding vendor	SGI
Window system binding version	1.4
Window system binding extensions	GLX_ARB_create_context GLX_ARB_create_context_no_error GLX_ARB_create_context_profile GLX_ARB_create_context_robustness GLX_ARB_fbconfig_float GLX_ARB_framebuffer_sRGB GLX_ARB_get_proc_address GLX_ARB_multisample GLX_EXT_buffer_age GLX_EXT_create_context_es2_profile GLX_EXT_create_context_es_profile GLX_EXT_fbconfig_packed_float GLX_EXT_framebuffer_sRGB GLX_EXT_no_config_context GLX_EXT_swap_control GLX_EXT_swap_control_tear GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap GLX_EXT_visual_info GLX_EXT_visual_rating GLX_INTEL_swap_event GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer GLX_MESA_query_renderer GLX_MESA_swap_control GLX_OML_swap_method GLX_OML_sync_control GLX_SGIS_multisample GLX_SGIX_fbconfig GLX_SGIX_pbuffer GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group GLX_SGI_make_current_read GLX_SGI_swap_control GLX_SGI_video_sync
XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP	i3
XDG_SESSION_TYPE	x11
GDMSESSION	i3
Ozone platform	x11
Direct rendering version	DRI3
Reset notification strategy	0x8252
GPU process crash count	3
gfx::BufferFormats supported for allocation and texturing	R_8: not supported, R_16: not supported, RG_88: not supported, BGR_565: not supported, RGBA_4444: not supported, RGBX_8888: not supported, RGBA_8888: not supported, BGRX_8888: not supported, BGRA_1010102: not supported, RGBA_1010102: not supported, BGRA_8888: not supported, RGBA_F16: not supported, YVU_420: not supported, YUV_420_BIPLANAR: not supported, P010: not supported
Compositor Information
Tile Update Mode	Zero-copy
Partial Raster	Enabled
GpuMemoryBuffers Status
R_8	Software only
R_16	Software only
RG_88	Software only
BGR_565	Software only
RGBA_4444	Software only
RGBX_8888	Software only
RGBA_8888	Software only
BGRX_8888	Software only
BGRA_1010102	Software only
RGBA_1010102	Software only
BGRA_8888	Software only
RGBA_F16	Software only
YVU_420	Software only
YUV_420_BIPLANAR	Software only
P010	Software only
Display(s) Information
Info	Display[14822516254048322] bounds=[0,0 1280x720], workarea=[0,0 1280x720], scale=2, rotation=0, panel_rotation=0 internal.
Color space (all)	{primaries:BT709, transfer:IEC61966_2_1, matrix:RGB, range:FULL}
Buffer format (all)	BGRA_8888
SDR white level in nits	100
Bits per color component	8
Bits per pixel	24
Refresh Rate in Hz	59
Info	Display[13702219207146819] bounds=[1280,0 1600x900], workarea=[1280,0 1600x900], scale=2, rotation=0, panel_rotation=0 external.
Color space (all)	{primaries:BT709, transfer:IEC61966_2_1, matrix:RGB, range:FULL}
Buffer format (all)	BGRA_8888
SDR white level in nits	100
Bits per color component	8
Bits per pixel	24
Refresh Rate in Hz	59
Video Acceleration Information
Decoding (VideoDecoder)	
Decode h264 baseline	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Decode h264 main	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Decode h264 high	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Decode vp8	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Decoding (Legacy VideoDecodeAccelerator)	
Decode h264 baseline	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Decode h264 main	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Decode h264 high	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Decode vp8	16x16 to 4096x4096 pixels
Encoding	
Vulkan Information
Device Performance Information
Log Messages
[4100844:4100844:0103/130813.422343:ERROR:gpu_init.cc(457)] : Passthrough is not supported, GL is desktop, ANGLE is
[4100844:4100844:0103/130813.453544:ERROR:sandbox_linux.cc(376)] : InitializeSandbox() called with multiple threads in process gpu-process.
GpuProcessHost: The GPU process exited with code 512.
[4112970:4112970:0103/140813.811218:ERROR:gpu_init.cc(457)] : Passthrough is not supported, GL is desktop, ANGLE is
[4112970:4112970:0103/140813.825151:ERROR:sandbox_linux.cc(376)] : InitializeSandbox() called with multiple threads in process gpu-process.
GpuProcessHost: The GPU process exited with code 512.
[4115690:4115690:0103/142229.007904:ERROR:gpu_init.cc(457)] : Passthrough is not supported, GL is desktop, ANGLE is
[4115690:4115690:0103/142229.019330:ERROR:sandbox_linux.cc(376)] : InitializeSandbox() called with multiple threads in process gpu-process.
GpuProcessHost: The GPU process exited with code 512.
[4117216:4117216:0103/143029.237833:ERROR:gpu_init.cc(457)] : Passthrough is not supported, GL is desktop, ANGLE is
[4117216:4117216:0103/143029.250873:ERROR:sandbox_linux.cc(376)] : InitializeSandbox() called with multiple threads in process gpu-process.```

DoctorG

@ferdig I tested Vulkan on Manjaro 21 and I could experience: not stable enough with Vivaldi. I do not use Vulkan at this time.

ferdiG

@DoctorG regardless of my settings, I never managed to get Vulkan to work anyway - just most of the other features.

Vulkan and RawDraw are alway disabled no matter what I try. Still the browser freezes from time to time using the other acceleration features. Whenever that's the case the browser is unresponsive from several seconds up to one minute and the content of browser windows is no longer updated but overlayed with the content of other windows. I'm using the i3 window manager. I wonder if I'm the only person experiencing such a behaviour.

ferdiG

To update my own post:

To get Vulkan support on Arch Linux one needs to install the vulkan-intel package. Duh. Never realized that. Well. Now my browser can use Vulkan. I'll see how that goes in terms of intermittent freezing ...

DoctorG

@ferdig And check BIOS how many RAM your Intel GPU can use. Low GPU mem in Intels caused on one of office PCs some ugly freezes.

ferdiG

@DoctorG thanks, that sounds like a plausible explanation. I'll definitely check that when I upgrade my system the next time!

ferdiG

I finally came around checking the GPU mem on my computer. Unfortunately only two values can be selected: 256MB and 512MB. And it was at 512MB already. Not too great I suppose.

But at least I somehow managed to mitigate my browser freezes by installing the vulkan-intel package which unfortunately is NOT listed as a dependency on Arch Linux. Now I don't get freezes anymore. What happens instead from time to time is that the GPU process restarts which causes the browser screen to go white for a second or two. Also from time to time the GPU process crashes which causes Vulkan to be disabled so a browser restart is required. Still, this is much better than having the browser randomly freeze for half a minute ...

DoctorG

@ferdig For me on some Linux Intel GPUs vulkan drivers never ran with enough stability. I did not use any vulkan drivers since more than a year.

ferdiG

@DoctorG Vulkan drivers on Linux may be unstable, but at least on my Arch system they give me a reasonably usable browser. The alternatives are either constant browser freezes or disabling hardware acceleration all together. None of which is really satisfying. So I'll rather stick with this "solution" for the time being.