You open Task Manager to see what's chewing through your performance and there it is. A wall of text. Opera GX is staring back at you, but it’s not just one line. It’s 15, 20, maybe even 30 separate processes all running at once. It looks like a virus. Or at least like the browser is having some kind of digital identity crisis.
Honestly, it’s enough to make anyone paranoid. You only have three tabs open, so why is the math not mathing? You’re probably thinking your "gaming browser" is actually just a resource hog in a fancy red suit.
But here’s the thing: it’s actually supposed to work that way. Mostly.
👉 See also: Why My YouTube Won't Play Videos: The Real Fixes for 2026
The Chromium Blueprint: Why Everything is a Process
Opera GX is built on Chromium. That’s the same engine that powers Chrome, Edge, and basically every browser that isn’t Firefox or Safari. Chromium uses something called Multi-Process Architecture.
Back in the day, if one tab crashed, the whole browser died. You’d lose your work, your video would stop, and you’d have to restart everything. It was a nightmare. To fix this, Google (who started Chromium) decided to give every single "thing" its own sandbox.
What are those 20 processes actually doing?
If you want to see the truth, don't look at Windows Task Manager. Instead, hit Shift + Esc while you’re inside Opera GX. This opens the browser’s internal task manager. Suddenly, those anonymous "Opera GX" entries get names.
- The Browser Process: This is the brain. It handles the address bar, bookmarks, and buttons.
- The GPU Process: This handles the heavy lifting for graphics. Since GX is for gamers, this one is busy rendering those slick animations and UI transparency.
- Renderers: Every tab you open usually gets its own process. Sometimes, even different frames within a tab get their own process if they’re from different websites.
- The Network Service: This manages your internet requests so a laggy site doesn't freeze your UI.
- Extension Processes: This is the big one. Every extension you have—Adblockers, Dark Reader, Honey—needs its own process to stay isolated and secure.
The "GX" Factor: Sidebar and Features
Standard Chrome might have 10 processes for a few tabs. Opera GX often has more because it’s packed with built-in "component extensions."
Think about the sidebar. Do you have Discord or Twitch pinned? Even if they aren't "open" on your screen, if they're active in the sidebar, they are likely running their own processes in the background. The GX Control panel, the GX Cleaner, and even the Aria AI assistant—these aren't just buttons. They are small, independent programs living inside your browser.
Each one of those features adds a line to your Task Manager. If you use the dynamic background music or those satisfying mechanical keyboard typing sounds, yep, those might be separate processes too.
Is it a Resource Hog or Just Organized?
There’s a common misconception that more processes = more RAM usage. It’s actually more about stability.
By splitting 20 tasks into 20 processes, Opera GX ensures that if your "Shrek 5" fan theory tab crashes, your Twitch stream in the sidebar keeps running. It also helps with security. If a malicious site tries to hijack your browser, it's trapped in its own tiny process sandbox and can't easily jump over to your bank tab.
The RAM Paradox
However, there is a "tax" for this organization. Each process has a bit of overhead. If you have 4GB of RAM, 20 processes might actually feel heavy. If you have 16GB or 32GB, you won't even notice.
The irony is that Opera GX gives you the GX Limiter to stop it from eating your RAM, but the very tool that limits the RAM is... you guessed it, another process.
How to Slim Down the Process List
If that long list still gives you the "ick," you can actually trim it down. You don't need a degree in computer science to do it, just a bit of spring cleaning.
- Kill the "Hot Tabs": Use the GX Control button (the speedometer icon). It has a "Hot Tabs Killer" that shows you exactly which process is the loudest and lets you axe it instantly.
- Audit Your Extensions: We all install stuff we never use. Go to
opera://extensionsand delete anything you haven't touched in a month. Every deletion removes a process. - Disable Sidebar Apps: If you don't use the Player or the Instagram integration, right-click the sidebar and turn them off.
- Hardware Acceleration: Sometimes the GPU process goes rogue. You can toggle "Hardware Acceleration" in the settings, though for a gaming browser, you usually want this on for better performance.
The Reality Check
By 2026 standards, seeing 20-30 processes for a modern browser is completely normal. Windows and macOS are designed to handle thousands of threads at once. As long as your CPU usage isn't spiking to 90% while you're just staring at a Google Doc, the number of processes doesn't really matter.
It’s just the browser being a tidy roommate—putting every dish in its own cabinet so if one breaks, the whole kitchen doesn't catch fire.
If you're still seeing massive slowdowns, your next move should be checking the internal Opera task manager (Shift+Esc) to see if a specific site is "leaking" memory. Sometimes a single bad ad on a website can spawn three sub-processes that go haywire. Find it, kill it, and move on.
Actionable Next Step: Open Opera GX, press Shift + Esc, and sort by "Memory." If you see something called "Subframe: [weird website name]," that's a hidden ad or tracker running its own process—close that tab immediately to reclaim your speed.