How to reduce Google Chrome high memory usage
Although we have many web browsers these days for PC/laptop, we usually prefer Google Chrome to browse the web. Google Chrome is a fairly good web browser that offers all the features you might need. However, it has many drawbacks that force users to look for alternatives.
The biggest drawback of Google Chrome is the consumption of RAM. Compared to other Chromium-based browsers, Google Chrome consumes more RAM, which ultimately slows down your laptop or PC. If you are using a medium-end computer, launching the Chrome browser will freeze your system for a few seconds.
Best Ways to Reduce Google Chrome High Memory Usage
So, if you are dealing with RAM issues while running the Google Chrome browser on your computer, you are reading the right guide. In this article, we will share the best ways to reduce Google Chrome memory usage on Windows 11. Let's check.
1) Check for other background runs
Before following the following methods, you need to check if the Chrome browser is actually the cause of the high RAM or memory usage on your system? There are many applications and processes running in the background, which increase memory consumption.
So, open the task manager on your Windows 11 computer, and click on the Memory tab. In the memory section, you need to check if it was actually the Chrome browser that was consuming resources. If Chrome is not the culprit here, you need to find and stop the apps that use the most of your RAM resources.
2) Close unnecessary tabs
One of the notable reasons why Google Chrome disk is used 100% is the tabs. If you keep many tabs open in your web browser, you will have a big problem with memory usage.
The best way to deal with such a problem is to close all unnecessary tabs in the Google Chrome browser. Closing tabs in Google Chrome will help you save some computing resources and will also improve the speed of your computer.
3) Remove unused extensions
If you've been using Google Chrome for a while, you may know how easy it is to install an extension. It takes about a few seconds for an extension to install on the Chrome web browser. However, redundant and unnecessary extensions often result in high RAM usage on Windows 11.
So, before trying the following methods, make sure to open Extension Manager in the Chrome browser and remove unused and duplicate extensions. It is recommended to keep accessories that are reliable and useful to you.
4) Use Chrome Task Manager to kill processes
If you don't know, Google Chrome also has a task manager that identifies the processes and tabs that consume the most RAM. Thus, you can check the Chrome task manager and kill processes and tabs to free up memory.
To access the task manager on Google Chrome, you need to follow our guide - how to use Google Chrome's built-in task manager. We've shared a step-by-step tutorial on this guide on using Chrome's Task Manager.
5) Activate hardware acceleration
In short and in simple words, hardware acceleration forces Chrome to use your dedicated GPU instead of RAM for video streaming, graphic editing, and game streaming. So, if your computer has a dedicated GPU or graphics card, you can enable the hardware acceleration feature in the Chrome browser.
When you enable hardware acceleration on Chrome, the web browser will use GPU power to stream videos, edit graphics, and play games within the browser. This feature will significantly reduce RAM consumption while using the Google Chrome browser.
6) Turn off the background app when Chrome closes
If you are still experiencing high RAM usage after following the above methods, you need to turn off background apps even when Chrome is closed.
With this feature enabled, Chrome background apps run in the background and use your RAM resources even when they are closed. Follow some common steps below to turn off background apps on Chrome.
First of all, open the Chrome browser, and click on the three dots> Settings .
On the settings page, use the search bar to find the "Continue running background apps" option.
Next, disable the toggle button for the "Continue running background apps when Google Chrome closes" option.
Is that him! It's done. This is how you can deactivate the option to run background apps when you close Chrome.
7) Use the cleaning feature in Google Chrome
Google Chrome has a feature that allows you to find malware on both your computer and web browser. You can use this feature to find and remove malicious applications and malware that may silently use your resources for unethical activities such as data exchange and bitcoin mining. To turn on the cleaning feature in Chrome, follow a few simple steps shared below.
1. First of all, in the address bar, type "Chrome://settings/"
2. On the settings page, use the search bar to find "Clean"
3. In "Clean the computer", click the "Search" button to start the cleaning process.
Is that him! It's done. This is how you can use the cleanup tool to remove malicious apps and malware that may result in exceptionally high RAM usage.
8) Reset Chrome settings
If everything fails for you, your last option is to reset the Google Chrome browser because you probably got a lot of RAM usage due to incorrect Chrome settings. Thus, you need to reset your Chrome browser to fix the problem. To reset Google Chrome, follow the steps we shared.
1. First of all, launch the Chrome browser and on the address bar, enter chrome://settings/reset/
2. On the Reset and Clean page, click the Restore settings to original defaults option option.
3. At the confirmation prompt, click the Reset settings button as shown below.
Is that him! It's done. This will reset the Google Chrome browser and possibly fix the high RAM issue.
So, these are some of the best easy ways to reduce the problem of RAM usage in Google Chrome. Hope this article helped you! Please share it with your friends as well.