If Chrome has started to feel sluggish—tabs lagging, pages loading slowly, fans spinning up—you’re not alone. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need a new laptop or a full browser reset to feel a real performance boost. Chrome has several powerful settings tucked away in menus most people never visit, and a handful of quick changes can noticeably improve responsiveness, reduce memory strain, and speed up everyday browsing. In this guide, you’ll uncover seven lesser-known settings that can improve Chrome speed in minutes, plus a few smart habits to keep things fast long-term. Try them one at a time, measure the difference, and keep the changes that give you the best “snappy” feel.
1) Turn on Chrome’s performance tools (and make Chrome speed a daily habit)
Chrome now includes built-in performance controls designed specifically to reduce resource drain without requiring technical tweaks. If you haven’t checked these settings recently, you could be missing the simplest speed win available.
Enable Memory Saver to free RAM from inactive tabs
If you’re the kind of person who keeps 20+ tabs open “just in case,” Chrome can bog down as memory fills. Memory Saver automatically puts inactive tabs to sleep and reallocates RAM to the tab you’re actually using.
How to enable it:
1. Open Chrome
2. Go to Settings
3. Click Performance (or search “Performance” in the settings search bar)
4. Turn on Memory Saver
Tips for best results:
– Add “Always keep these sites active” exceptions for apps that must stay live (email, calendar, work dashboards).
– If a site reload delay annoys you, whitelist it rather than turning the feature off.
Real-world effect: For many users, this reduces stutter when switching between a few active tabs while still keeping plenty open in the background.
Use Energy Saver to prevent slowdowns during heavy browsing
Energy Saver can limit background activity and reduce power draw, which often translates to less thermal throttling (your CPU slowing down because the device is getting hot). On laptops, that heat management can indirectly improve Chrome speed during long sessions.
How to enable it:
– Settings → Performance → Turn on Energy Saver
– Choose when it activates (often best: “When your device is unplugged”)
If you’re on a desktop, you may not need this. On laptops, it’s a quiet performance stabilizer—especially if you notice Chrome getting worse over time in a browsing session.
2) Stop background activity that silently drains performance
Chrome can continue running tasks even after you close the browser window—updating extensions, pushing notifications, or keeping services alive. That background work adds up.
Disable “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed”
This one setting is a common culprit for mysterious slowdowns, especially if you use many extensions.
How to change it:
1. Settings
2. System
3. Turn off “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed”
Why this improves Chrome speed:
– Less CPU and RAM usage when Chrome is not actively open
– Fewer background processes that can interfere with performance when you relaunch
Note: If you rely on Chrome-based apps that need to run in the background (some messaging tools, for example), test this carefully. Most people won’t miss it.
Trim site notifications (they’re more expensive than they look)
Site notifications aren’t just annoying—they can also keep permissions, scripts, and background events active. Cutting them down reduces clutter and can help keep Chrome feeling lighter.
Quick cleanup:
– Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Notifications
– Switch to “Don’t allow sites to send notifications”
Or:
– Remove permissions for sites you no longer trust or use
A simple rule: If a site isn’t truly essential (bank alerts, calendar reminders), it doesn’t need notification access.
3) Use hardware acceleration the right way (it can help—or hurt)
Hardware acceleration lets Chrome offload certain tasks (like video decoding and rendering) to your GPU. When it works well, everything feels smoother. When it doesn’t, it can cause lag, glitches, or high resource use.
Toggle hardware acceleration and test both modes
There’s no universal “best” setting because performance depends on your device, GPU driver, and operating system.
How to find it:
1. Settings
2. System
3. “Use hardware acceleration when available”
Best practice:
– If it’s ON and Chrome feels jittery, turn it OFF and restart Chrome.
– If it’s OFF and you watch lots of video or use web apps, try turning it ON and restart.
How to measure the impact (simple and fast):
– Open a video site and a web app (like docs/spreadsheets)
– Switch between tabs quickly
– Watch for stutter, input lag, and scroll smoothness
If you want deeper technical info, Chrome’s GPU diagnostics page (type chrome://gpu in the address bar) can show what’s accelerated and what isn’t.
Update GPU drivers if acceleration is unstable
If hardware acceleration causes artifacts, black screens, or strange flicker, the culprit is often an outdated or buggy GPU driver.
Useful resources:
– Windows: Update via Windows Update or your GPU vendor (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel)
– macOS: GPU drivers come via system updates
– Learn more about Chrome’s performance features from Google’s official guidance: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/12987334
This is one of the few “outside Chrome” steps that can still have a big effect on Chrome speed.
4) Tame preloading and prediction features for faster real-world browsing
Chrome tries to guess what you’ll do next by preloading pages and predicting navigation. On fast networks this can feel helpful, but on limited RAM, slower CPUs, or metered connections, it can backfire.
Adjust “Preload pages” to match your device
Preloading can increase background network and memory activity. If Chrome is already heavy on your machine, dialing this down can improve responsiveness.
Where it is:
– Settings → Privacy and security → (sometimes under “Cookies and other site data” or “Privacy”) → Preload pages
Common options:
– Extended preloading: Most aggressive, uses more resources
– Standard preloading: Balanced
– No preloading: Least resource use
Recommendation:
– If you have a lower-end laptop or notice fan noise and lag, test Standard or Off.
– If you have plenty of RAM and a fast CPU, Standard is usually fine.
This is a subtle setting, but it can make Chrome speed feel more consistent during multitasking.
Clear your DNS cache when pages “hang” on first load
This isn’t a permanent setting, but it’s a hidden tool that fixes odd slowdowns when sites stall on “resolving host” or behave inconsistently.
Try this when browsing feels weirdly slow:
1. Type chrome://net-internals/#dns in the address bar
2. Click “Clear host cache”
3. Restart the affected tabs
If you regularly hit DNS issues, consider switching to a reliable DNS provider at the OS/router level. But as a quick fix, this is surprisingly effective.
5) Reduce extension drag (without giving up your favorite tools)
Extensions are one of the top reasons Chrome slows down. Many run scripts on every page you visit, inject UI elements, or keep background listeners active. The hidden trick isn’t “delete everything,” but rather controlling when extensions run.
Audit extensions by impact, not by guesswork
Chrome makes it easy to see what’s installed, but not all extensions are equally heavy. Start by removing anything you don’t actively use.
Go here:
– Chrome menu → Extensions → Manage Extensions
Or type:
– chrome://extensions
Then:
– Remove extensions you haven’t used in 30 days
– Disable “nice-to-have” extensions and re-enable only if you truly miss them
If you want a quick clue:
– Ad blockers can be efficient, but running multiple blockers is often redundant and heavy.
– Shopping helpers and coupon extensions tend to be resource-hungry.
Set extensions to “On specific sites” instead of “On all sites”
This is one of the most overlooked speed boosts because it keeps Chrome from running extension code everywhere.
How:
1. chrome://extensions
2. Click Details on an extension
3. Find “Site access”
4. Choose “On specific sites” (or “On click”)
Examples:
– Grammar checker: only on email/docs sites
– Password manager: usually fine everywhere, but test if it slows down your workflow
– Screenshot tool: “On click” is often perfect
This approach preserves functionality while improving Chrome speed by cutting background work on most pages.
6) Clean up data that slows loading (cache, cookies, and site storage)
Cache and cookies can speed up browsing—until they become bloated or corrupted. Then you may see slow page loads, login loops, broken scripts, or heavy site storage that drags performance.
Clear site data the smart way (target problem sites first)
Instead of wiping everything (and signing out everywhere), start with sites that feel slow or broken.
Steps:
1. Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings
2. View permissions and data stored across sites
3. Search for the site causing trouble
4. Clear data for that site only
When to do a full clear:
– If Chrome feels slow across nearly all sites
– If you’ve migrated machines or restored from backups
– If you suspect corrupted cache files
If you do clear broadly, consider selecting:
– Cached images and files
And be cautious with:
– Cookies and other site data (clearing this signs you out)
Control third-party cookies to reduce cross-site bloat
Many sites load third-party trackers that store data. While the biggest impact here is privacy, reducing cross-site tracking can also reduce clutter and background requests.
Where:
– Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies
Balanced option:
– Block third-party cookies in Incognito
More aggressive:
– Block third-party cookies generally (may break some login flows)
If a site breaks, Chrome allows exceptions—use them selectively.
7) Use Chrome’s built-in reset and cleanup tools (without losing everything)
If you’ve made several tweaks and Chrome is still crawling, a targeted reset can clear hidden misconfigurations. Many users avoid this because they assume it’s destructive. Done correctly, it’s a clean way to restore performance.
Reset settings (keeps bookmarks and passwords)
Chrome can return many settings to default while retaining essential data synced to your Google account.
Steps:
1. Settings
2. Reset settings
3. “Restore settings to their original defaults”
What typically resets:
– Startup page, new tab page, search engine
– Pinned tabs and some site permissions
– Disabled extensions may remain disabled, but some settings revert
What typically stays:
– Bookmarks
– Saved passwords (especially if synced)
– Browsing history (unless you clear it)
If Chrome speed has gradually degraded over months, this can be the fastest route back to “fresh install” performance.
Run a quick safety check and update Chrome
New Chrome versions often include performance improvements, security patches, and fixes for memory leaks. Staying updated is one of the simplest ways to keep Chrome speed strong.
Do this:
– Settings → About Chrome (updates automatically and prompts relaunch)
– Settings → Safety check (if available) to review extensions, updates, and password safety
Also consider enabling automatic updates at the OS level so you’re not stuck on an older build.
To keep Chrome fast, don’t rely on one magic switch. Turn on Memory Saver, stop unnecessary background activity, control extension site access, and tune preloading to match your hardware. If you also test hardware acceleration both ways and periodically clear data for misbehaving sites, you’ll get a browser that feels sharper, loads pages more reliably, and stays responsive with multiple tabs open—exactly what most people mean when they want better Chrome speed. Try two changes today, restart Chrome, and note what improves. If you’d like a personalized checklist based on your device and the extensions you use, reach out at khmuhtadin.com and I’ll help you pinpoint the quickest wins.
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