How to Speed Up Chrome with 9 Easy Tricks

Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world, and a big part of that is thanks to the fact that it’s one of the quickest. But that doesn’t mean you can’t speed up Chrome even more if you want. Here are the best ways to speed up your Chrome browser if you notice it isn’t running as smoothly as you’d like.

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1. Clear the Chrome Cache

Your cache is generally designed to make pages load quicker by storing crucial information about them on your PC and pulling this up each time you return to a page. But if you don’t maintain it, it can get filled with outdated cache information for certain sites.

Outdated caches stop up-to-date site information from taking its place. So, clearing your cache can therefore help speed up Chrome.

Start by opening Chrome and pressing Ctrl + Shift + Del on your keyboard. Alternatively, type chrome://settings/clearBrowserData into the address bar.

Tick the boxes next to Cached files and images and Cookies and other site data. You can tick the other boxes if you want, but these aren’t mandatory.

Expand the Time range dropdown menu and select All time. Click on Delete data.

2. Update to the Latest Version of Chrome

Outdated software will always perform worse, which might be why Chrome is not responding or keeps crashing on your device.

Most of the time, closing and reopening your browser will install any pending updates. However, if that doesn’t work, you can first click on the hamburger icon in the top right-hand corner.

Go to Help and select About Google Chrome.

If you’ve got an old version of Chrome, you’ll see a Relaunch button. Click on this and your browser should then update. You may also want to learn how to reopen Chrome without losing a single tab.

3. Remove Chrome Extensions That You Don’t Use

Chrome extensions can help you become more organized and perform essential tasks more effectively. However, if you don’t use some of them, disabling your Chrome extensions with one click is a good idea.

Alternatively, you can get rid of your plugins altogether. If the extension is starred, right-click on it and select Remove from Chrome.

Otherwise, start by clicking on the extension icon and selecting Manage Extensions.

Select Remove next to every extension you want to delete.

You can do several things to uninstall Chrome extensions that won’t delete, such as using a third-party extension remover.

4. Use Chrome Task Manager to Disable Unnecessary Processes

Chrome has a built-in task manager made for seeing all those tabs and processes running on it. Simply click the menu icon at the top-right of your Chrome window, More Tools, then Task Manager. (Alternatively, you can press Shift + Esc when Chrome is open.)

You’ll be able to see which tabs and extensions are using the most memory. Click the Memory column to put them in order of how much memory they’re using and subsequently slowing down your browser. If you see a process using up abnormal amounts of memory or CPU, select it and click End process.

5. Configure Your Preload Settings

Preloading pages should help Chrome run faster on your device. Start by going to the menu icon and selecting Settings at the bottom of the dropdown menu.

Go to Performance -> Speed. Then, toggle Preload pages on. You can also toggle the other preload options if you feel like it’s necessary.

6. Use an Ad-Blocker

Not all ads are bad, but having them appear can sometimes slow down your browser. Chrome has to load more elements on pages with lots of ads, which can strain your computer.

Using an ad-blocker is a good idea to slow down Chrome. I’ve used Adblock Plus for years, and while it no longer completely blocks ads on some websites (e.g. YouTube), it’s still pretty effective.

You should also look at blocking pop-up windows in Chrome and any other browser you use.

7. Enable GPU Rasterization

If you’re a gamer and regularly play with high-demand graphics, enabling GPU rasterization in Chrome is a good idea. While it’s often turned on by default, you should still check to ensure that you haven’t switched it off at some point.

Start by typing chrome://flags/ in the URL bar and hitting the Enter key on your computer.

Look for GPU Rasterization. I used Ctrl + F and searched for rasterization because there are a lot of settings on this page.

Expand the dropdown menu and select Enabled.

8. Suspend Tabs You’re Not Using

Tabs that continue to run in the background hog your system resources. Instead of just closing those excess tabs, though, you can enable a Chrome flag that suspends tabs you’re not using, then re-enable them when you click them, saving on memory.

To enable this, type chrome://flags in the URL bar, type Ctrl + F, and search for “tab discarding.” When you see it, click the dropdown box, select Enabled, and restart Chrome.

9. Turn on Graphics Acceleration

In Chrome, you can enable hardware acceleration by going to your Chrome Settings. Doing so should speed up your browser. Click on the menu icon and select Settings -> System.

When you’re here, make sure that Use graphics acceleration when available is switched on by default.

If you’re interested, you can take a look at what aspects of Chrome hardware acceleration are affected by going to chrome://gpu/.

Chrome can start to run slowly as you use it more, especially if you don’t prioritize clearing your cache and optimizing your settings. It’s also important that you consider deleting plugins you don’t want to use. Once you’ve got your browser running as it should, look at how to keep bookmarks organized in Chrome.

Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Danny Maiorca.

Danny Maiorca –
Contributor

Danny has written for online audiences for 10+ years. He specializes in Apple products and loves writing on his MacBook, keeping in touch on his iPhone, and measuring his workouts on his Apple Watch. Danny’s work has featured in multiple places online, including MUO, Lifewire, and Guiding Tech. Away from the keyboard, he’s passionate about photography and leading an active lifestyle outdoors.

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