Inventor 2023 high CPU usage when idle

[tgirardJ8ULV]

Here’s a problem we have with Inventor 2023. After working for some time, Inventor eats a lot of CPU when idling. I’ve seen it go as high as 19% on a 8-core, 16 thread CPU, even after sitting idle for minutes.

We use laptops, so this high CPU usage is annoying because it generates just enough heat to require the cooling fans to start and pollute the office with noise. On a desktop this is not that much of a problem, except of course it’s wasting power.

Here’s a first video showing the problem after a few hours of work today. Inventor uses a lot of CPU, even though I’m not doing anything. But I found a reliable fix! Going to the home menu by clicking the small home icon brings the CPU back to very acceptable levels (less than 1% usage when doing nothing). After that I’m good for some time, my laptop fan turns off, I'm happy.

After playing around, I found that simply opening and closing files adds some ‘’idle CPU load’’ that never goes away. In video #2, I create a very simple part, using Autodesk's template, and save it. Then I just repeatedly open it and close it, and the CPU goes up and up and up. After 30 cycles, I go back to the home menu and the idle CPU usage goes back to zero.

This happens on Inventor 2023.2. I did not notice this issue on Inventor 2022. Multiple computers with different hardware show this behavior.

EDIT: Reuploaded the video, I initially inserted the wrong files.

[pcrawley]

Turn the Home screen off.

In Task Manager, expand Inventor and you'll see the "CefSharp.BrowserSubprocess" is the culprit.  Autodesk gave us a new Home Screen in 2023, then broke it with the 2023.1 patch and it is still broken in 2023.2.  It's a real shame because it was just getting back to the functionality we'd come to expect from 2022, but we can't use it unless we want to cook breakfast on our CPU's.

[tgirardJ8ULV]

Thanks for the tip, I did not know the home screen could be disabled.
Sounds like a good temporary fix until something is done about this problem.

[pcrawley]

Tools > Application Options > General - "Show Home Screen on startup" (bottom right corner)

It is a "fix" but not a solution.  Come on Autodesk - please get it fixed.  We want our Home screen back - especially after all the work you put into making it like all other Autodesk products (except Fusion of course).

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Peter,

The issue was tracked as UDA-4809 and INVGEN-63695. The latest status shows it has been resolved on an internal build targeting 2023.3 update (March/April 2023).

Many thanks!

[pcrawley]

I knew you'd be on the case @johnsonshiue - thank you.

[SBix26]

For me, at least, this is the first time I recall seeing that simply activating the Home Screen dropped the CPU usage back to normal levels.  Rather than disabling the Home Screen, I will start doing this from time to time as I work in Inventor 2023.

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Sam B

Inventor Pro 2023.2 | Windows 10 Home 21H2