1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,080 Although there are actually lots of web browsers out there 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:09,840 to choose from, odds are that unless you're on an Apple device and using Safari, you're probably using Google Chrome. 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:14,360 In fact, in late 2019, it was estimated that a whopping 64% 4 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,620 of users across devices were using Chrome. And why not? 5 00:00:18,620 --> 00:00:22,640 It's got an easy to learn interface and it's known for being a speedy performer, 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,680 but it has one major drawback that you might have noticed, 7 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:32,080 especially if you're running a lower end computer. It turns out that Chrome is a massive memory hog. 8 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:37,640 I mean, sure, exactly how much it uses depends on how many tabs you have open and what exactly you're doing, 9 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,560 but it's pretty common to push things north of two gigabytes of memory usage 10 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,000 with just a dozen tabs. And if you're a heavy multitasker 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,840 or you just have terrible tab discipline, you can quickly start straining your system's resources. 12 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,040 But why? I mean, it's just a web browser. 13 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,800 See, it turns out that on top of all the regular 2020 internet stuff that uses a lot of RAM, 14 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:03,880 like multiple high-def videos, feature-rich webpages and extensions all being active at once, 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:09,040 Chrome uses a lot of RAM primarily because it sandboxes everything you're running. 16 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,380 Here's what this means. Chrome splits off each tab and each browser extension 17 00:01:13,380 --> 00:01:17,240 into its own process, which occupies its own space and memory. 18 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,080 The idea there is that if there's a problem with one page that causes it to crash, 19 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,440 it won't affect the rest of your browsing session. It's definitely a good feature 20 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,720 if you've got dozens of tabs open that you'd rather not lose. 21 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,720 But creating so many processes means Chrome 22 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:35,520 takes up more RAM than it would otherwise, since you have to replicate Chrome functionality 23 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,840 in every tab. So you're trading RAM usage for stability. 24 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,000 And after the Spectre and Meltdown bugs hit a couple years ago, 25 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,880 Chrome started separating out processes even more aggressively, 26 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,480 resulting in many users experiencing additional RAM usage 27 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,940 to the tune of about 10%. So it's not insignificant. 28 00:01:54,940 --> 00:02:00,020 But greater reliability is just one reason Chrome lays claim to so much of your memory. 29 00:02:00,020 --> 00:02:03,460 You know how I mentioned that Chrome has a reputation as a fast browser? 30 00:02:03,460 --> 00:02:07,820 Part of the reason it's so fast is because it dumps a lot of data into your memory. 31 00:02:07,820 --> 00:02:10,940 Remember that RAM is much faster than long-term storage 32 00:02:10,940 --> 00:02:14,000 like an SSD or hard drive. One way it does this is through a technique 33 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,540 called pre-rendering. This is when Chrome guesses at what you're going 34 00:02:17,540 --> 00:02:21,100 to look at next, such as a next story on a news website, 35 00:02:21,100 --> 00:02:24,660 and loads the page's resources into memory automatically. 36 00:02:24,660 --> 00:02:30,220 Chrome has gotten pretty good at pre-rendering and as such has noticeably sped up page load times, 37 00:02:30,220 --> 00:02:34,420 but it needs to use a lot of RAM to deliver the speed users have come to expect. 38 00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:38,360 And if you have a system without much RAM, this can become a real problem. 39 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:43,160 On a budget machine with four gigabytes of memory, you can hit up against the ceiling very quickly 40 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,820 if you're running Chrome with other programs. And even if you have eight gigs of RAM, 41 00:02:46,820 --> 00:02:50,100 you can see some slowdowns if you're doing a lot in your browser at once. 42 00:02:50,100 --> 00:02:54,020 Now, Chrome does try and compensate through some memory management tricks, 43 00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:58,780 including tab discarding. This is when Chrome automatically unloads from memory 44 00:02:58,780 --> 00:03:02,500 the contents of tabs you aren't using or haven't clicked on recently. 45 00:03:02,500 --> 00:03:06,140 Although this means that you'll experience a delay when you want to re-access the tab, 46 00:03:06,140 --> 00:03:10,380 as Chrome reloads the content, it can still keep Chrome from hitting your RAM 47 00:03:10,380 --> 00:03:15,660 quite as hard, pull in some punches. So what can you do if Chrome is hogging too much memory 48 00:03:15,660 --> 00:03:19,260 and adding more RAM to your system isn't an option for you right now? 49 00:03:19,260 --> 00:03:24,820 Well, switching to a new browser may not actually help as many of them use the same sandboxing paradigm. 50 00:03:24,820 --> 00:03:30,180 But Chrome does have a built-in task manager that can help you visualize and close tabs and extensions 51 00:03:30,180 --> 00:03:34,780 that are using tons of memory. So you might consider uninstalling resource-heavy extensions 52 00:03:34,780 --> 00:03:38,300 you rarely use or using alternative websites if possible. 53 00:03:38,300 --> 00:03:41,500 There are even extensions that can cut down on memory usage, 54 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:45,820 such as one that converts your tabs into a list of links. You'll take a performance hit, of course, 55 00:03:45,820 --> 00:03:50,120 but it's still a decent enough solution considering they haven't really invented a way 56 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:55,360 to download more RAM yet. But I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. 57 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,760 Hey, thanks for watching this video, guys. Like it if you liked it. 58 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,760 Dislike it if you disliked it. Check out our other videos 59 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,720 and comment below with video suggestions. And while you're doing all that, 60 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,400 also don't forget to subscribe and follow. I know it's a lot to keep track of, 61 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,440 but you can do it, I believe in you.