Current Events > The latest version of Firefox uses 30% less memory. Chrome still uses less.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Normally I religiously link to the first page of a multi-page article, but in this case the first page has precisely zero benchmark results...

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3213031/computers/best-web-browsers.html?page=2

See this image specifically:


In fact, out of the major browsers right now, Chrome uses the least amount of memory. My own testing just now proves this out as well.

What happened to Chrome being the big bad resource hog?
---

Hey look at that. Chrome and Opera are the only ones I currently have installed

why do i want less memory?
---

Unless you are using a potato, why does memory usage matter?
---

Paragon21XX posted...

Unless you are using a potato, why does memory usage matter?

I used 4GB of RAM for 8 years. Never had a problem with FireFox.

I don't know what people are doing.
---

I'm using the new firefox and i noticed stuff loads way faster than chrome and i use a bit less memory than with chrome when opening several tabs, specifically videos and such.
---

i switched to Chrome years ago..Firefox would slow my computer down like crazy and take forever to load.
---

Chrome is spyware
---

pretty sure lynx uses even less, so why aren't you using that
---

Cookie Bag posted...

I'm using the new firefox and i noticed stuff loads way faster than chrome and i use a bit less memory than with chrome when opening several tabs, specifically videos and such.

Are you comparing clean install to clean install? Are you timing and measuring things, or just going off of feel?

armandro posted...

Paragon21XX posted...

Unless you are using a potato, why does memory usage matter?

I used 4GB of RAM for 8 years. Never had a problem with FireFox.

I don't know what people are doing.

Try running it alongside Android Studio and an Android Emulator. You'll cap out 4GB pretty quick - I do regularly. 4GB gets eaten up pretty quick nowadays, and a lot of people still only have that much RAM. This is partly due to the fact that a lot of developers have the same mentality, which is lazy.
---

Loghain posted...

Chrome is spyware

---

Enjoy your botnet
---

Chrome always loads so for me and no fix has ever helped
---

Corrupt_Power posted...

Cookie Bag posted...

I'm using the new firefox and i noticed stuff loads way faster than chrome and i use a bit less memory than with chrome when opening several tabs, specifically videos and such.

Are you comparing clean install to clean install? Are you timing and measuring things, or just going off of feel?

armandro posted...

Paragon21XX posted...

Unless you are using a potato, why does memory usage matter?

I used 4GB of RAM for 8 years. Never had a problem with FireFox.

I don't know what people are doing.

Try running it alongside Android Studio and an Android Emulator. You'll cap out 4GB pretty quick - I do regularly. 4GB gets eaten up pretty quick nowadays, and a lot of people still only have that much RAM. This is partly due to the fact that a lot of developers have the same mentality, which is lazy.

Yeah, you're right but like I got used to like not running stuff like that. I have 16GBs now and I don't even know what to do with all this.
---

Corrupt_Power posted...

armandro posted...

Paragon21XX posted...

Unless you are using a potato, why does memory usage matter?

I used 4GB of RAM for 8 years. Never had a problem with FireFox.

I don't know what people are doing.

Try running it alongside Android Studio and an Android Emulator. You'll cap out 4GB pretty quick - I do regularly. 4GB gets eaten up pretty quick nowadays, and a lot of people still only have that much RAM. This is partly due to the fact that a lot of developers have the same mentality, which is lazy.

So... don't own a fucking potato if you are often doing other tasks that take up a significant amount of memory. And going by the chart you have posted, the true difference between browsers is inconsequential.
---

Corrupt_Power posted...

Are you comparing clean install to clean install? Are you timing and measuring things, or just going off of feel?

yeah clean installs, and mostly watching the task manager and individual tabs and such, it just loads faster for some reason, gotta wait till it bloats itself i guess lol
---

Drasilor posted...

Loghain posted...

Chrome is spyware

Irrelevant to this topic.

Pancake posted...

pretty sure lynx uses even less, so why aren't you using that

hurr

Asherlee10 posted...

I could be wrong, but doesn't Chrome segment each tab separately for memory so that if 1 tab crashes, the entire browser doesn't?

That's a bit simplified, but yes. The latest version of Firefox does this as well.
---

Lol how are you even running Android Studio and Emu with 4GB. I imagine it chugs or you can't allocate much memory into the emu whatsoever
---

Yeah I seriously fucking doubt it.
Edit: yup just tested it and firefox (latest) is only using 842 MB, Chrome is using 1.24 GB. Same tabs in both.

And I have a bunch of addons in Firefox, too. Only have adblock on Chrome.
---

for real i ran lynx for a good month, i couldn't get my graphics card working on debian.
---

ZombiePelican posted...

Enjoy your botnet

Not sure you know what a botnet is.

armandro posted...

Yeah, you're right but like I got used to like not running stuff like that. I have 16GBs now and I don't even know what to do with all this.

Yeah, my desktop runs 16GB too, so on it, I don't really care. My Surface is another matter, though, which is where I do most of my development nowadays. The desktop has become mostly a dedicated gaming rig now.

Paragon21XX posted...

So... don't own a fucking potato if you are often doing other tasks that take up a significant amount of memory. And going by the chart you have posted, the true difference between browsers is inconsequential.

Want to buy me a $1500 Surface Book? I mean, money is obviously not an issue for you, based on your "just don't own a potato" stance.
---

money is obviously not an issue for you, based on your "just don't own a potato" stance.

yeah there's no middle ground whatsoever. only state-of-the-art rigs can run anything.
---

legendarylemur posted...

Lol how are you even running Android Studio and Emu with 4GB. I imagine it chugs or you can't allocate much memory into the emu whatsoever

It chugs pretty bad during compiling and building, but otherwise it manages ok, lol.

Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

Yeah I seriously fucking doubt it.
Edit: yup just tested it and firefox (latest) is only using 842 MB, Chrome is using 1.24 GB. Same tabs in both.

And I have a bunch of addons in Firefox, too. Only have adblock on Chrome.

How many tabs? Just FYI, Adblock significantly increases per-tab memory usage. And anything other than a clean install compared to a clean install isn't a good representation of browser vs. browser. If you don't believe it, look up benchmark comparisons between Firefox Quantum and Chrome. They all show the same.

Pancake posted...

money is obviously not an issue for you, based on your "just don't own a potato" stance.

yeah there's no middle ground whatsoever. only state-of-the-art rigs can run anything.

I'm running on a Surface Pro 4, i5 128GB model. That's already on the higher end of middle ground.
---

I'm running on a Surface Pro 4, i5 128GB model. That's already on the higher end of middle ground.

and firefox isn't fine for you? sounds like you got ripped off.
---

Corrupt_Power posted...

Paragon21XX posted...

So... don't own a fucking potato if you are often doing other tasks that take up a significant amount of memory. And going by the chart you have posted, the true difference between browsers is inconsequential.

Want to buy me a $1500 Surface Book? I mean, money is obviously not an issue for you, based on your "just don't own a potato" stance.

You can buy an acceptable laptop for $500. If you think that a Surface Book is the minimum, perhaps you don't belong in your line of business.
---

Firefox has always been a resource hogging piece of shit tbh. I uninstalled it almost a year ago because of that exact reason. Opera is firefox without the problems

Corrupt_Power posted...

How many tabs? Just FYI, Adblock significantly increases per-tab memory usage. And anything other than a clean install compared to a clean install isn't a good representation of browser vs. browser.

10 tabs
I have adblock on Firefox, too.
Actually an older install is a better representation since that's the typical case. Who cares how fresh installs perform against each other?
---

Pancake posted...

I'm running on a Surface Pro 4, i5 128GB model. That's already on the higher end of middle ground.

and firefox isn't fine for you? sounds like you got ripped off.

Paragon21XX posted...

You can buy an acceptable laptop for $500. If you think that a Surface Book is the minimum, perhaps you don't belong in your line of business.

Where did I say Firefox isn't fine, or that my current machine isn't acceptable for what I use it for? I'm just surprised that FF uses more memory than Chrome, considering Chrome is the one that usually gets called a resource hog, and I'm making a case for why developers should care about how much memory their programs use. Nice grasping for straws, though.

Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

Corrupt_Power posted...

How many tabs? Just FYI, Adblock significantly increases per-tab memory usage. And anything other than a clean install compared to a clean install isn't a good representation of browser vs. browser.

10 tabs
I have adblock on Firefox, too.
Actually an older install is a better representation since that's the typical case. Who cares how fresh installs perform against each other?

Literally arguing that testing browsers after the average user has bogged them down with several years of garbage is better than testing them fresh. You've got good jokes, I'll give you that.
---

Where did I say Firefox isn't fine

when you made a topic bitching about it lol
god at least stick to your stuff
---

Corrupt_Power posted...

Literally arguing that testing browsers after the average user has bogged them down with several years of garbage is better than testing them fresh. You've got good jokes, I'll give you that.

That's the average scenario, so yes.

Testing programs under non-real-world conditions is interesting in an academic sense but it's not actually relevant to anyone aside from academics
---

Pancake posted...

Where did I say Firefox isn't fine

when you made a topic bitching about it lol
god at least stick to your stuff

TIL pointing out a common misconception is "bitching" and found someone new to block.
---

Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

Corrupt_Power posted...

Literally arguing that testing browsers after the average user has bogged them down with several years of garbage is better than testing them fresh. You've got good jokes, I'll give you that.

That's the average scenario, so yes.

Testing programs under non-real-world conditions is interesting in an academic sense but it's not actually relevant to anyone aside from academics

My point though is that testing against old, "lived-in" installs would give just as subjective results as if you tested the 2 browsers on random separate computers. The data is completely useless outside of that precise test case. Moreover, the data from both browsers don't really relate in a fair way to each other.

Let me give you an example of the kind of issues a lived-in install can have:
- Software version 1 has setting A, and over the course of that version's life, people are recommended to turn that setting on for compatibility with legacy systems, or maybe it defaults to enabled.
- Software version 2 adds optimization Z that dramatically improves performance, but cannot function while setting A is enabled, so it is disabled in that case.
- Legacy systems are still in use, albeit rarely, so the developers cannot remove setting A.
- The majority of users do not benefit from optimization Z because they have setting A enabled, even though they rarely if ever interact with legacy systems.
- A clean install of version 2 defaults setting A to disabled.

This is a massively simplified version of the kind of issues I'm talking about - a lot of the time the leftover settings are internal flags and other things that even your average savvy user might not know how to modify.
---

leverageblargh posted...

@Loghain posted...

Chrome is spyware

ELI5

It spies on your wares
---

So this topic made me finally come to terms with 4GB of memory just not being enough for the software development I do, no matter how fantastic the Surface is otherwise. So I bought a new Lenovo laptop, lol.
---