Firefox is the only app that gives me trouble on my computer, it always takes the most CPU time. Is there a way to make it faster? I use Firefox 2 with only a few extensions. Scrapbook is one, and a big reason why I use Firefox. Is there any way to improve the performance, any extensions that do it or anything?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is there a way to make Firefox faster?
- Thread starter riker1384
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
for firefox 2, try https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1269 fasterfox
firefox 3 is faster than 2 by default. but you can always open pipeline manually in about:config to increase speed even more.
firefox 3 is faster than 2 by default. but you can always open pipeline manually in about:config to increase speed even more.
I'm not sure that's what I want. It seems to focus on bandwidth. I can get pages fast enough. The problem is FF takes up too many CPU cycles (sometimes too much RAM but mainly CPU). It's the only thing that makes me want a new computer right now; everything else is still snappy.
It's pretty much all the time usually. I usually have a bunch of tabs open, so maybe some of them have Flash. Safari with the same number though wouldn't use up so much power. Firefox is almost always the top CPU user, and a lot of the time I end up running at 100% solid.
ditch Flash
If you ditch Flash, it can seem like getting a whole new computer.
The downside is that almost all web-based video sites use Flash, but you can easily turn it on and off for that if you want.
As an alternative, try an AdBlocker.
I find that even when Flash isn't slowing down a site, it's seems like it's some crap Java-based advertisement. So if you want to leave Flash and Java enabled, you can let the AdBlocker eliminate all the crap that's most likely slowing down the browser.
Half the time a browser will get the webpage in seconds, but you have to wait a full minute for some stupid script, (Java or Flash) in an advertisement to load because some idiot has coded it that way. I find this happens a lot on the Mac because some advertisement on a tech page has code that tries to check the Windows registry or something without even thinking that someone might not have Windows, or a "registry."
Finally, I find FireFox just slower in general. Safari is far better than it used to be and is noticeably faster that FireFox IMO.
The number one thing that slows down FireFox (and Safari) is Flash.
If you ditch Flash, it can seem like getting a whole new computer.
The downside is that almost all web-based video sites use Flash, but you can easily turn it on and off for that if you want.
As an alternative, try an AdBlocker.
I find that even when Flash isn't slowing down a site, it's seems like it's some crap Java-based advertisement. So if you want to leave Flash and Java enabled, you can let the AdBlocker eliminate all the crap that's most likely slowing down the browser.
Half the time a browser will get the webpage in seconds, but you have to wait a full minute for some stupid script, (Java or Flash) in an advertisement to load because some idiot has coded it that way. I find this happens a lot on the Mac because some advertisement on a tech page has code that tries to check the Windows registry or something without even thinking that someone might not have Windows, or a "registry."
Finally, I find FireFox just slower in general. Safari is far better than it used to be and is noticeably faster that FireFox IMO.
Safari is definitely faster than Firefox, although Safari (at least the version I had to use before I just upgraded to Tiger) would always eat up more RAM over time and then eventually lock up and I would have to force-quit. Firefox is slower, but stable.
How do I disable Flash, is it a preference? I don't know about disabling Java, it seems like a lot of pages use that nowadays.
How do I disable Flash, is it a preference? I don't know about disabling Java, it seems like a lot of pages use that nowadays.
I tried the Flashblock extension, but it made FF crash several times when I was adding sites to the whitelist. Are there any other ways to turn it off?
NoScript is an absolute must for Firefox:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722
Especially with multiple tabs open; Firefox 2 certainly has some memory leaks...but Firefox 3 should help to address that too.
HTH,
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722
Especially with multiple tabs open; Firefox 2 certainly has some memory leaks...but Firefox 3 should help to address that too.
HTH,
Nocript seems to be too much of a hassle. So many sites use Java or Java script, that you lose a lot by turning it off. It's a pain to have to turn it on, and sometimes you don't realize there's anything you're missing.
Flashblock would be good if I could get it to run without crashing. I might try Adblock, although I don't want to block every ad because it doesn't seem prudent to use free content but block all the ads that support it. I'd just block animated or obnoxious ones.
Are there any other good ideas?
Flashblock would be good if I could get it to run without crashing. I might try Adblock, although I don't want to block every ad because it doesn't seem prudent to use free content but block all the ads that support it. I'd just block animated or obnoxious ones.
Are there any other good ideas?