People love Google Chrome for its intuitive user interface and versatility. However, it is a notorious memory hog and you may find that Chrome becomes sluggish after prolonged use. Luckily, there are some simple ways to improve Chrome's performance.
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One of the first things to check when Chrome performance is slow is whether the browser is up to date. Google regularly releases updates that introduce new features, fix bugs, and enhance security. Chrome updates automatically by default, but it’s worth checking because an outdated version of Chrome can lead to slow performance and cause compatibility and security issues.
Chrome suddenly really cares about RAM (memory) usage. Even if you just hover over a tab, you can now see how much RAM it's using. Knowing when a single tab is using more than 1GB of memory is pretty useful.
For a more detailed list, use Chrome's Task Manager. Go to Menu > More Tools > Task Manager . You can also use the Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut on Windows, or right-click an empty spot on the tab bar and select Task Manager from the menu. From here, you can find any tabs that are using too much memory and click the End Process button to kill them.
If you don't want to see memory usage when you hover over a tab, you can turn this feature off by going to Settings > Appearance > Show memory usage on tab hover preview card .
Many people are terrible at closing unused browser tabs while working. Every open tab consumes memory and resources, leading to sluggish performance. The same goes for browser extensions. While they improve functionality, too many extensions can slow down Chrome.
You may also consider using lighter alternatives for a faster browsing experience.
As an automated assistant for tab management, Chrome offers Memory Saver , which improves performance by reducing the memory usage of inactive tabs. When enabled, this feature automatically frees up memory from tabs you're not currently using, allowing your active tabs to run more smoothly.
If set to Balanced , this feature will deactivate tabs after an optimal amount of time.
Chrome uses preloading to predict your browsing behavior and preload pages you're likely to visit next. By optimizing your preloading settings, you can speed up Chrome for a better browsing experience.
You should experiment with preloading to see which feature works best for you. Turning it off can sometimes improve performance, especially if your browsing habits don't align with preload predictions.
Extended Preloading is one of those features that makes your browser feel much faster than it actually is. Chrome has a feature called Extended Preloading that can be enabled from Settings > Performance > Speed .
When enabled, a large number of websites and web pages will be preloaded, even before you visit them. The preloading happens in the background through Google's servers, so there's a very small delay between when you click on a link and when the page opens. However, because the request is being preloaded through Google's servers, you'll be making a privacy trade-off. Google will use your cookies to figure out which sites you visit frequently and which ones should be preloaded in the background.
By default, Standard preloading is enabled, which works with fewer websites. To disable preloading completely, uncheck the switch next to Preload pages.
Google Chrome's latest performance feature will proactively warn you when browser tabs are taking up too much memory. Say you're watching a 4K video on YouTube and it's stuttering even though you're on a strong internet connection. Google can determine if the problem is due to memory overload and can alert you to which tabs are causing the problem via a speedometer icon next to the address bar. Just click the icon and then tap Fix now to make those tabs inactive.
The tabs will still be in your tab bar, and you can always click them again to reload them. This feature can be enabled from Settings > Performance > General > Performance Issue Alerts . .
Chrome is notorious for using a significant amount of memory and CPU. This is often due to unwanted processes running in the background, resulting in sluggish performance. Regularly checking and managing these processes can significantly increase the speed of your browser.
If you identify any unwanted or unnecessary processes, select them and click End Process to close them.
If you've tried all of the previous methods and your Chrome browser is still sluggish, it might be time to take a more drastic step — resetting Chrome . This will restore your browser to its factory settings and remove any custom configurations that may be causing the problem. Keep in mind that resetting Chrome will remove pinned tabs, startup pages, and other personalized settings. However, your bookmarks and saved passwords will remain intact.
Chrome is arguably the most popular browser, with over 60% of the global market share. Like most of Google's productivity and lifestyle tools, many people are big fans of Chrome, even though it's not without its bugs and can be a CPU hog.
Making sure to run through this list of simple fixes whenever Chrome starts to slow down will dramatically improve your browsing experience, improve your productivity, and make your browsing sessions more enjoyable. Each fix can be performed from within Chrome and only takes a few seconds, potentially saving hours of frustration in the long run.
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