Arch Linux

scipio

Member

Registered: 2019-11-15

Posts: 2

VirtualBox High CPU Usage

Hi, whenever I open a virtual machine, CPU usage on the host goes to 100% (top) and 35-45% (system monitor) and CPU temperature sees 80.0°C. This doesn't happen on Windows or Debian. It is really very disturbing.

My CPU is i5-4200h. I have checked Hardware Video Acceleration configurations from Arch Wiki and applied them. The acceleration works but it didn't help. I am sure that Hardware virtualization features work. I don't know what I can do now. I am looking forward to your help.

Last edited by scipio (2019-11-15 07:04:08)

romstor

Member

Registered: 2018-08-18

Posts: 54

Re: VirtualBox High CPU Usage

Hi, whenever I open a virtual machine

What is your host system (the one you are running VirtualBox on)?

This doesn't happen on Windows or Debian.

Again - is this Windows / Debian as VirtualBox host or guest?

Can you post top processes by CPU and RAM on host and guest?

ps -eo pid,ppid,cmd,%mem,%cpu --sort=-%cpu | head

scipio

Member

Registered: 2019-11-15

Posts: 2

Re: VirtualBox High CPU Usage

My host system is Arch Linux. I thought it was clear because I opened the topic here. Windows and Debian was host systems.

Anyway, it is now solved. I don't know what solved it but only thing I have done is to set hardware acceleration features.

Thanks.

Master One

Member

From: Europe

Registered: 2007-01-21

Posts: 249

Re: VirtualBox High CPU Usage

@scipio

I think I'm having the same issue. Host system is my laptop with i5-8250U and an up-to-date Arch Linux installation with GNOME. The VirtualBox guest is a WinXP 32bit system and whenever I use it the CPU fan goes to maximum. This wasn't the case with the same VirtualBox image previously on an old Ubuntu MATE installation.

What exactly did you do concerning hardware acceleration features? Do you mean features set for the guest system in VirtualBox or do you mean features configured on the host system?

@romstor

My host system is a laptop with i5-8250U CPU and 32GB RAM. Whenever I do something in the WinXP guest system one of the host's 8 CPU threads goes to 100%.

This is what it looks like on the host system:

$ ps -eo pid,ppid,cmd,%mem,%cpu --sort=-%cpu | head
    PID    PPID CMD                         %MEM %CPU
   7024    6917 /usr/lib/virtualbox/Virtual  7.6 13.1
   1252    1250 /usr/lib/Xorg vt2 -displayf  1.8  7.3
   2999    1302 /usr/lib/firefox/firefox     3.6  6.5
   2850    1302 evolution                    1.0  5.5
   1302    1129 /usr/bin/gnome-shell         0.9  4.6
   3148    2999 /usr/lib/firefox/firefox -c  1.5  2.6
  11949    1129 /usr/bin/gnome-calendar --g  0.2  2.4
   3735    2999 /usr/lib/firefox/firefox -c  1.1  1.9
  11944    1129 /usr/lib/gnome-terminal-ser  0.1  1.5

I can't replicate such output in the guest (I don't really know my way around in anything Windows anymore).

The WinXP guest is configured in VirtualBox as follows:

• RAM: 2048 MB

• Chipset: PIIX3

• IO-APIC: enabled

• CPU: 2

• CPU-Limitation: 100%

• PAE/NX: enabled

• Para-Virtualization: Hyper-V

• Hardware-Virtualization: VT-x/AMD-V enabled

• Hardware-Virtualization: Nested Paging enabled

• Graphics Memory: 128 MB

• Number of Screens: 1

• Scaling Factor: 200%

• Graphics Controller: VBoxSVGA

• 3D Acceleration: enabled

• 2D Acceleration: enabled

• Storage Controller: IDE / PIIX4 / Host I/O-Cache enabled

I don't know if any of this may be relevant. I think I have changed the configuration from before when it was running on my old Ubuntu MATE laptop, I think I have given WinXP more RAM and a second CPU.

Any ideas?