Starting from an updated Google Chrome, the RAM memory used by the browser can skyrocket mainly for four reasons:
- Number of open tabs. When we open many tabs in our browser, they are loaded in RAM memory, and therefore, they are taking up space in it. The more tabs we open, the more memory the browser will consume. In fact, most of us have to admit that on many occasions we open and leave open more tabs than we really need. This increases RAM consumption completely unnecessarily, something that we can correct.
- Number of open windows. We can open a Chrome window, and within it all the tabs we want, or open several browser windows. A window occupies more RAM memory than a tab, so if we open several windows the use of memory will skyrocket. And if we add to this that we open a good number of tabs to each of these windows that we are talking about, the performance of the computer can be greatly affected.
- background updates. Chrome has the obnoxious habit of updating the tabs that are open in the background so that when we visit them, we don’t have to click on the update button. Updating the tabs that show us content that is not updated every few minutes (like this article) does not make any sense, since the only thing we achieve is increasing the consumption of resources. Websites that are updated every few minutes, such as newspapers, are in charge of updating automatically without the user having to intervene at any time.
- installed extensions. We cannot deny that the use of browser extensions is a very useful feature. However, it is one of the causes that causes RAM consumption to skyrocket. Extensions are loaded into memory when we open the browser, and they also store a large amount of resources within it over time. Therefore, the more extensions we have installed, and the longer we have been using the browser, the more memory it will be consuming. And of course, in the same way that we told you before that we open or leave tabs open for no reason, something similar happens with extensions. We install them many times to test something or on a one-off basis, and leave them there forever, which is a mistake.
Luckily, if we use our browser with common sense, we will be able to reduce the use of RAM. This is precisely what we are going to help you with along these same lines. In addition, what we are talking about is very important, especially if we take into account the enormous number of hours that many of us spend in browsers like Chrome at the moment.
Tips to save RAM when using Chrome
We must bear in mind that, both due to the very nature of the program, and due to how modern websites are built, any browser that opens a web page will already consume a considerable amount of both RAM and processor memory. But, with some tips like the ones we are going to see below, we will be able to reduce this waste of resources to the minimum essential.
Keep an eye on open tabs
The first of the tips, and in the end it is the most effective, is to be careful with the pages that we have open at all times. It is very comfortable to browse with tabs, but this can cause us to accumulate dozens of open websites without realizing it, websites that we surely do not need. But there they are. Therefore, the first tip to reduce RAM usage is close all the tabs that we do not need, leaving only the ones we are working with. Thus, in addition to better ordering the browser, we can free up a significant amount of RAM memory.
Although Google Chrome has inactive tab suspension functions, it is still much more effective to keep the number of open tabs as low as possible, since the management of open tabs is not adequate to optimize resource consumption. When a tab is active in the background, Chrome updates it from time to time unnecessarily so that when we click on it, the updated content is displayed at all times. If we really want to access the most recent information that one of the tabs that we have open shows, we just have to click on the F5 button or the download icon to the right of the URL.
Install only essential extensions
Another important tip when it comes to saving memory in Chrome is use few extensions. As we have already said, extensions are very useful, but also dangerous for performance. The fewer extensions we have, the better. We should also install only trusted extensions, with many positive scores. Otherwise, we may end up installing a malicious extension that is using our hardware to perform its own tasks (such as mining cryptocurrency), which consumes resource usage.
Therefore, the fewer extensions we install on the computer, and these are as reliable as possible, the better. If, in addition, they only start operating on demand, that is, when we need them, the better, since the consumption of resources of this type of application will be considerably reduced.
Is the PC free of malware?
It can also help us reduce the use of RAM by scanning our PC for malware. Beyond looking for viruses on the PC, we can use an anti-malware, such as AdwCleaner, to detect any possible malicious software that may be interfering with the proper functioning of the PC. And, in addition, it will also allow us to reset the proxy, winsock, TCP/IP, firewall and Hosts file settings.
refresh the browser
Of course, we must make sure that we are always using the latest version of google chrome. Each update, in addition to correcting errors and vulnerabilities, usually brings optimizations and improvements, so having the latest browser will help us to consume less.
The updates, unless we have had a problem with the computer, should be automatic, so it is most likely that Chrome is always up to date. But, just in case, it never hurts to make sure.
start from scratch
If Google Chrome is still consuming a lot of RAM after trying all of the above, then we can try two more options. The first one is create a new user within the browser that allows us to start from scratch, and the second is uninstall chrome completely and reinstall the latest version. Or, while you’re at it, try a new web browser, like Edge or Firefox.
As an alternative, we recommend you also try Chromium, the open source version of Google’s browser that, in addition to being fully functional, removes many of Chrome’s private functions that generally cause the most problems.
Configuring performance enhancement features
In addition to the above tips, there are some settings that allow us to make the browser consume much less memory while we use it, even without having to install other extensions. Perhaps these seem a little more complex to carry out. But the truth is that they can be carried out in a few seconds, and they are already there forever. Furthermore, here everything will be advantages, both in the use of the program as such, and in the use of the PC in general.
hardware acceleration
The first of these configurations is enable hardware acceleration. This feature allows you to delegate certain tasks to the computer’s GPU instead of loading them onto the CPU. By doing so, in addition to running much faster, Chrome will consume less RAM by not having to load information into it in order to send it to the CPU.
To activate this feature, we write the following in the address bar and activate the switch that appears highlighted.
chrome://settings/?search=hardware+acceleration
We can check the status of this acceleration by typing “chrome://gpu/” in the address bar. The entries that appear as “Hardware accelerated” will be the ones that are using this hardware acceleration and, therefore, less CPU and RAM will be used when browsing with them. As you can imagine, here the real hardware that we have in our equipment has a lot to do with it, both GPU, CPU and RAM memory.
Site Isolation
Another function that makes the browser consume a lot of RAM is Site Isolation. This function allows us to isolate the websites we visit so that they cannot access the resources of the PC. It is a security measure of the browser, which is activated by default, but which makes each website that we load consume more memory.
We can disable it (although we do not recommend it) from the advanced settings of the browser. We simply have to access the URL that we leave you below, and mark the option “Disable site isolation” as “Enabled”.
chrome://flags/#site-isolation-trial-opt-out
We restart the browser and this feature will already be disabled. Although we will be giving up a good security measure.
Clear cookies and cache
Another recommendation that can make our browser work faster and in a more optimized way is periodically clear cookies, cache and temporary files of the same. By deleting this data, all the information that has been generated while we were using the browser will be deleted and, in addition to freeing up space on the hard drive, we will make Chrome consume less RAM.
To do this, we must write the following in the browser’s address bar, and enter the “Clear browsing data” section:
chrome://settings/?search=clear+browsing+data
Here we are going to see two sections. The first of them, basic, allows us to delete the most common temporary files of the browser, that is, history, cookies and cache. The second of them, the advanced configuration, allows us to choose the data that we want to delete much better. And we can even leave the browser as new.
We select all the elements that we want to delete from the browser, and then we will choose in the “time interval” until when we want to delete them. It is best to choose “Since forever” to delete all the data that has been generated in it.
We click on «Delete data” and ready. Chrome will automatically delete all this data from the browser, and from that moment on, we can start browsing the Internet better. We must know that this type of program in particular, not just Chrome, stores a large amount of data inside it. All of this is done in order to improve the user experience over time. But of course, the excessive accumulation of this data can lead to serious problems related to performance.
Using the Freeze Tabs Feature
Despite everything, the use of RAM memory continues to be a very important problem for the browser. For this reason, Google has been looking for ways to permanently reduce the use of Chrome resources. To do this, the company has developed a system that will allow us to freeze, or suspend, the tabs in seconds…