Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How to Reduce Google Chrome's Memory and CPU Usage

thettareddast said:
The fact that this statement exists is wild

“Google claims the new Memory Saver feature means Chrome uses up to 40% and 10GB less memory.”

My brother in Christ how do you consume up to 10GB of memory in the first place
Click to expand...
LOL yea I think my worst was 2.## GB. What uses 10??
 
MacRumors said:


Google's Chrome browser has long been criticized for being a system resource hog, which is why Chromium developers have been busy working on ways to free up memory and keep things running smoothly when users have multiple windows and tabs open.

google-chrome-memory-energy-saver.jpg

The latest effort in that regard comes in the form of Memory Saver, a new feature that deactivates open tabs you haven't used in a while so that the tabs you are using offer the smoothest possible experience. With Memory Saver enabled, your inactive tabs remain open, and when you access an inactive tab, it reloads automatically.

Google claims the new Memory Saver feature means Chrome uses up to 40% and 10GB less memory. The company says the new performance setting is particularly good at keeping active video and gaming tabs running smoothly.

Google is rolling out Memory Saver mode over the next several weeks globally for Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS, but not everyone will see it yet. Fortunately, if the new Settings -> Performance menu is not visible for you, you can activate it manually by using the experimental features in Chrome Flags. The steps below show you how.

How to Enable Memory Saver Mode in Chrome

Before you proceed, be sure to bookmark any important tabs and save anything important that you're working on in Chrome, then update the browser to the latest version available (109.0.5414.119 as of writing).
  1. Launch Chrome and paste the following into the address bar: chrome://flags/#high-efficiency-mode-available
  2. Next to "Enable the high efficiency mode feature in the settings", change the Default setting to Enabled, then restart Chrome.
    chrome-memory-saver.jpg

    Now paste the following into the address bar: chrome://settings/performance
  3. In the new "Performance" menu, toggle the switch next to Memory Saver to enable it.
    chrome-performance.jpg

    Restart Chrome for the changes to take effect.
After you've done that, Memory Saver will be working in the background to free up memory for other tasks. You can can control the mode at any time by clicking Settings in the three-dot menu and selecting the "Performance" sub-menu. It's also here that you can stop Chrome from deactivating specific sites, using the Add button next to "Always keep these sites active."

Google cautions that there are a few settings and activities that may prevent tab deactivation. They include active audio calls or video playback, screen shares, page notifications, active downloads, partially filled forms, and connected devices via USB or Bluetooth.

How to Enable Energy Saver Mode in Chrome

Apart from Memory Saver, Google is also rolling out an Energy Saver mode that makes Chrome automatically limit battery draining tasks when the battery hits 20 percent. It does this by reducing its image capture rate and other background tasks, so you may notice changes in gaming and video performance. Google advises turning it on to extend your device's battery for a long road trip or plane ride.

The mode can be toggled on or off in the same "Performance" page in Settings. If you don't see it and don't want to wait for it to roll out to you, simply follow the same steps as above, but replace the address in Step 1 with chrome://flags/#battery-saver-mode-available and select Enabled next to "Enable the battery saver mode feature in the settings," then restart the browser.

chrome-energy-saver.jpg

Have you had success with the new Memory Saver or Energy Saver modes in Chrome? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: How to Reduce Google Chrome's Memory and CPU Usage
Click to expand...
You want to know how I reduce its resource and memory usage? I don't install or use it. 😁
 
webkit said:
Apple is actually making a lot of money from Safari thanks largely to the around $15 billion payment from Google to set Google search as the default. Apple definitely benefits financially from Google's search/ad business. This may change depending on how the DOJ case against Google goes.
Click to expand...
That's not using Safari. That's the default search engine on Safari.I am talking about selling user data on Safari.If no one used Safari google would still pay billions since its the default
 
Stalonium said:
I strongly suggest everybody who hasn't tried it before or in a while to give Firefox another shot! Aside from the usual things like their focus on privacy and stuff like that I just really love for how customizable it is. I like it even more in macOS than I do in Windows.
Click to expand...
It definitely seems better for resource usage, but every once in a while a page won't load right. But then I just use another browser. It doesn't happen enough to make me totally switch again.
 
Weird Al has the best advice for using 0% CPU/RAM:

Turn off your computer and make sure it powers down
Drop it in a 43-foot hole in the ground
Bury it completely, rocks and boulders should be fine
Then burn all the clothes you may have worn any time you were online
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheMacDaddy1 and jive turkey
LukeHarrison said:
Firefox, thirty seconds adjusting settings and uBlock Origin really is all you need. Made the switch back a couple of years ago and have never been happier with my browsing experience. Even use Firefox on my iPhone. I know the browser engine is the same as Safari (for now, let's see what the EU have to say about that) but having it sync with my desktop is nice.
Click to expand...
Okay, I have the current Firefox on my desktop computer at home. What settings do you adjust to speed up performance?
 
Did anybody notice a new trend of Chrome auto launching even when you never launched it on log in? And it doesn’t quit either. I think the worst mistake Apple ever made was not maintaining development Safari for Windows.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: gusmula
racerhomie said:
That's not using Safari. That's the default search engine on Safari.I am talking about selling user data on Safari.If no one used Safari google would still pay billions since its the default
Click to expand...

Ok but using the default search on Safari IS using Safari. If no one used Safari, Google wouldn't pay Apple nearly as much as the payment is largely based on Safari usage. I say "as much" and "largely based" because there has been some speculation that part of the payment agreement was that Apple would stay out of the search business but it hasn't been proven yet.

Google also pays Mozilla to set Google search as default but that payment is a lot less because Firefox usage is less.

Apple has had billion$ of reasons to encourage use of $afari, although a lot of that may change depending on how the DOJ case against Google goes.
 
now i see it said:
I don’t really understand the logic behind having 10 (or 100) browser tabs active in the background. Seems unnecessary and sloppy to me.
A few tabs, OK, but a dozen or more?
Click to expand...
Agreed - it's sloppy. Tell you what I have open in 1 browser window of the 3 browsers I have open right now on my Air M1.

3 Miro tabs
4 Confluence tabs
2 Productboard tabs
8 CRM tabs
2 google sheets
3 gmail
and a few random sites for research

That's just 1 of 4 Safari windows currently open. That's not even covering Chrome or Firefox - which I segregate browsers based on the company I'm doing work for (and/or sandboxing). And, I'm about to install Edge for Mac based on the positive feedback from other posters *due to need for more segregation*. And yes, I also keep a very organized bookmark structure. Could I be better organized, absolutely! Is my current system working for me, it is this week. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: gusmula, xmach and compwiz1202
I use Chrome because Safari doesn’t work with some websites (and vice versa, sometimes I switch to Safari when something isn’t working on Chrome). Wish there was all-purpose browser but for now I need more than one to use the entire internet. 🤷‍♂️
 
The need for a "memory saver mode" proves that Chrome is broken by design. Reminds me of "RAM cleaner software" back in the 90s.

Just don't use Chrome. You don't need it. Chrome is a danger for the freedom of the internet.
 
With chrome I still have the problem that it takes up several gigabyte because all previous versions are stored within the Chrome.app (Contents > Versions). I’ve seriously never understood why Chrome thinks this is a good idea?
 
lordhamster said:
I use brave when I need a Chromium based browser for a few web-apps. I've found you don't really need uBO with Brave as they pretty much implement all of uBO's lists by default. Any benefit you've found in adding it?
Click to expand...
I enabled almost all of the lists, barring the language ones at the end. IMO much better blocking than Brave's lists though I know if you dig through Brave's hidden menus you can enable almost all of the same ones from uBO.

However, uBO has Hard Mode where you can block 3rd party scripts where Brave doesn't as far as I know. I use that. It's a minor inconvenience for CAPTCHAs where I have to click to allow on each site, but it's worth the tradeoff for me.

And anything Brave's filters miss, uBO catches.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back