When it comes to PC gaming, then you can’t ignore Steam. It’s a video game digital distribution service for PC users. Steam provides you with server hosting, social networking, and video streaming services. In addition to this, Steam offers the user with automatic updates of games, installation of games, and community features. You can activate in-game chat and voice communication through Steam.
Users have been complaining that they have been recently suffering from Steam games lagging. While investigating the cause behind this, it becomes clear that Steam Client WebHelper keeps consuming most of the CPU resources. According to reports, the CPU power usage can go up to as high as 70%.
What is Steam Client WebHelper? This is a built-in web browser from Steam, and it can launch multiple processes in the background required for displaying Steam Store, game library, and the Community tab.
Steam Client WebHelper might use CPU resources, and it can go high. Suppose you have been experiencing high CPU usage due to Steam Client WebHelper. Let’s get Steam Client WebHelper in detail and see how you can prevent using more CPU resources.
What is this Steam Client WebHelper?
You already know what Steam is. Like other applications, Steam has an in-house web browser. Its built-in web browser is named steamwebhelper.exe or Steam Client WebHelper. Whenever you explore the application, Steam, it automatically launches the Steam Client WebHelper program in the background.
You can check it by fetching the Task Manager, and it can hold multiple Steam client WebHelper programs running in the background. However, every program related to the Steam Client WebHelper is used to display different components of Steam, such as your game library, Steam Community, or even the Store.
So, there’s nothing wrong with the Steam Client WebHelper processes. However, several users have complained that these processes seem to be using most CPU resources.
Is there any way to prevent Steam Client WebHelper from running in the background and consuming CPU resources? Yes, there are dedicated fixes to eliminate such multiple Steam Client WebHelper processes and free up some space.
4 Solutions for Steam Client WebHelper Consuming CPU Resources
Users have also noticed that the memory usage reaches almost 100% while playing games on Steam. And, the game might start lagging now and then. To eradicate the issue, you have to take care of the distribution of the Steam Client WebHelper processes.
Here are the tried and tested solutions to end the issue.
Disable Animated Avatars
Steam makes the gaming layouts dynamic and entertaining. And, Animated Avatars are one of the core components of Steam. These are moving backgrounds, frames, and images that users can access via the points shop. Gamers can customise their Steam experiences through this component.
The built-in browser or Steam Client WebHelper manages this feature. So, you can reduce resource usage if you turn off those Animated Avatars.
Here’s the detailed guideline for doing so:
- Click Settings that reside beside the FRIENDS LIST.
- Scroll down till you find the option that says ‘Enable Animated Avatars & Animated Avatar Frames in your Friends List and Chat’.
- Now, turn off the option and save all your changes.
Therefore, you can explore Task Manager and see the resource usage.
Uninstall the Latest Windows 10 Update
Users have reported that they have benefitted from this particular fix. So, you can give it a shot and uninstall the problematic Windows 10 update in the following way:
- Search for the Control Panel on your Windows PC. Once the Control Panel opens up, click on Uninstall a Program.
- Now, go to Programs & Features and opt for View Installed Updates.
- You need to uninstall the most recent 2 to 3 updates from the Windows Updates list.
Afterwards, you need to give your computer a quick restart. Check the Task Manager to determine if Steam Client WebHelper processes are still consuming resources.
Deactivate Steam Overlay
Steam Overlay is the specific user interface that gets activated when launching any game. However, you can disable Steam Overlay if you’re still facing the Steam Client WebHelper hogging CPU issue. Don’t worry; it won’t compromise your gaming experiences.
- Launch Steam Client on your PC. Fetch the In-game option and uncheck the ‘Enable Steam Overlay while in-game’ option.
- Now, choose the Interface option, and you have to disable a few things, such as Hardware Video Recording, Smooth Scrolling in Web Views, and GPU Accelerated Rendering in Web Views.
After completing these steps, observe if it has resolved the problem.
Try Launching Steam Except for the WebHelper
If the Steam Client WebHelper consuming CPU resources issue is still there, you have to use this method. This solution involves disabling the built-in browser.
How would Steam open up? You can launch the Steam Client without WebHelper, called the Small Mode. Let’s check out the guideline to launch Steam Client without the WebHelper component.
- Make sure that you close the Steam Client. Then, you need to open a Run dialog box. To do so, you can simply hold the Windows and R buttons to launch a Run dialog box.
- Next, you have to type the following text: C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steam.exe” -no-browser +open steam://open/minigamelist. Now, either press the Enter key or click OK.
- This will make Steam launch in Small Mode, and it requires no web browser.
Now, you are allowed to check the Task Manager to look at Steam Client WebHelper processes and their statistics.
Conclusion
These solutions are enough to make your PC free from unnecessary Steam Client WebHelper processes running in the background. If the issue persists, you can clean your hard drive using the command SFC/scan now on a Command Prompt window.
Make sure that you use the Command Prompt with administrator privilege. Hopefully, you will get rid of the resource-hogging nature of Steam client WebHelper, efficiently.
