WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Although there are actually lots of web browsers out there 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. 00:00:09.840 --> 00:00:14.360 In fact, in late 2019, it was estimated that a whopping 64% 00:00:14.360 --> 00:00:18.620 of users across devices were using Chrome. And why not? 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, 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.680 but it has one major drawback that you might have noticed, 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. 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, 00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:41.560 but it's pretty common to push things north of two gigabytes of memory usage 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:45.000 with just a dozen tabs. And if you're a heavy multitasker 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:50.840 or you just have terrible tab discipline, you can quickly start straining your system's resources. 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:54.040 But why? I mean, it's just a web browser. 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, 00:00:58.800 --> 00:01:03.880 like multiple high-def videos, feature-rich webpages and extensions all being active at once, 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:09.040 Chrome uses a lot of RAM primarily because it sandboxes everything you're running. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:13.380 Here's what this means. Chrome splits off each tab and each browser extension 00:01:13.380 --> 00:01:17.240 into its own process, which occupies its own space and memory. 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, 00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:24.440 it won't affect the rest of your browsing session. It's definitely a good feature 00:01:24.440 --> 00:01:27.720 if you've got dozens of tabs open that you'd rather not lose. 00:01:27.720 --> 00:01:30.720 But creating so many processes means Chrome 00:01:30.720 --> 00:01:35.520 takes up more RAM than it would otherwise, since you have to replicate Chrome functionality 00:01:35.520 --> 00:01:39.840 in every tab. So you're trading RAM usage for stability. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.000 And after the Spectre and Meltdown bugs hit a couple years ago, 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:46.880 Chrome started separating out processes even more aggressively, 00:01:46.880 --> 00:01:50.480 resulting in many users experiencing additional RAM usage 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:54.940 to the tune of about 10%. So it's not insignificant. 00:01:54.940 --> 00:02:00.020 But greater reliability is just one reason Chrome lays claim to so much of your memory. 00:02:00.020 --> 00:02:03.460 You know how I mentioned that Chrome has a reputation as a fast browser? 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. 00:02:07.820 --> 00:02:10.940 Remember that RAM is much faster than long-term storage 00:02:10.940 --> 00:02:14.000 like an SSD or hard drive. One way it does this is through a technique 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.540 called pre-rendering. This is when Chrome guesses at what you're going 00:02:17.540 --> 00:02:21.100 to look at next, such as a next story on a news website, 00:02:21.100 --> 00:02:24.660 and loads the page's resources into memory automatically. 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, 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. 00:02:34.420 --> 00:02:38.360 And if you have a system without much RAM, this can become a real problem. 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 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, 00:02:46.820 --> 00:02:50.100 you can see some slowdowns if you're doing a lot in your browser at once. 00:02:50.100 --> 00:02:54.020 Now, Chrome does try and compensate through some memory management tricks, 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:58.780 including tab discarding. This is when Chrome automatically unloads from memory 00:02:58.780 --> 00:03:02.500 the contents of tabs you aren't using or haven't clicked on recently. 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, 00:03:06.140 --> 00:03:10.380 as Chrome reloads the content, it can still keep Chrome from hitting your RAM 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 00:03:15.660 --> 00:03:19.260 and adding more RAM to your system isn't an option for you right now? 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. 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 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:34.780 that are using tons of memory. So you might consider uninstalling resource-heavy extensions 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:38.300 you rarely use or using alternative websites if possible. 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:41.500 There are even extensions that can cut down on memory usage, 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, 00:03:45.820 --> 00:03:50.120 but it's still a decent enough solution considering they haven't really invented a way 00:03:50.160 --> 00:03:55.360 to download more RAM yet. But I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.760 Hey, thanks for watching this video, guys. Like it if you liked it. 00:03:58.760 --> 00:04:01.760 Dislike it if you disliked it. Check out our other videos 00:04:01.760 --> 00:04:05.720 and comment below with video suggestions. And while you're doing all that, 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, 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:12.440 but you can do it, I believe in you.