Let’s face it: websites aren’t loading as fast at you’d like. Fortunately, there’s lots you can do to improve your web browser’s performance to make your internet surfing experience faster and more fun. Your browser depends on many different interacting software and hardware operations to run as smoothly as possible.
Upgrade Your Graphics Card
Upgrading your graphics card can make your browser and the rest of your computer run a lot faster, especially if you play a lot of games or watch a lot of videos. If your browser is especially slow when you’re doing this things, this may be the problem, though if you’re streaming video then the issue might be an internet connection that is too slow, or you might be downloading too much all at once. Higher definition videos and games with more advanced graphics are especially prone to slow things down if your computer’s graphics card is not up to the task of processing all that information. Better graphics cards have more on-board RAM and a more powerful GPU, or graphics processing unit.
Upgrade Other Components and Perform Computer Maintenance
Your CPU, or central processing unit, is also a factor in the performance of your computer and the programs it runs, including your web browser. A faster CPU means faster performance. Your hard disk space matters as well: more disk space means also means greater performance. The same is also true for RAM, or Random Access Memory: the more the merrier. Hard disks also run into a problem called fragmentation, which you can remedy by running a disk defragmentation program, which your computer might already come installed with. Regular updating and running of anti-virus, anti-malware and firewall programs is also a good idea, since malicious software such as spyware and keyloggers can muck up your computer’s performance by consuming system resources without you even knowing about it, all while doing nefarious things like stealing your personal information and even stealing your identity.
Check Minimum System Requirements
Sometimes the running of a single software program can slow down the rest of your computer, including your browser, if your computer fails to meet that program’s minimum system requirements. You can check the minimum system requirements of each program you’re running or check your real-time RAM usage to see if this is the problem, and you can shut down programs that your computer can’t run. This can even happen if you update to the newest version of your browser on an obsolete computer that’s unable to handle it. You really do want the newest version of your browser for the updated security features alone, so if this happens it’s time to switch to the newest version of a different browser with lower minimum system requirements or else upgrade or replace your computer. Your browser will run ever better if your computer exceeds the minimum system requirements necessary to operate it. You’ll reach diminish returns once you get to twice the minimum system requirements.
