Google Chrome Using too Much Memory

Recently updated on August 31st, 2020 at 07:07 pm

Google chrome is one of the most stable, fastest browser available right now According to a recent study, almost 66% of internet users use chrome to explore the internet. But chrome uses a lot of memory to maintain that reputation of being stable and speedy. So people often wonder “why Google chrome is using too much memory on my laptop or desktop?” In this post, we’re going to explain what is the reason for chrome high memory usage, how it improves things, and how you can optimize your chrome memory usage.

Why Chrome Use So Much Memory

Google chrome functions like all the other advanced modern browsers like safari, firefox, or opera. Chrome uses the sandbox (Isolation) methods, in this method chrome creates a separate process for every tab opened and other activity you’re performing on your chrome browser. Every opened tab provides the same chrome options and functionality as the other tabs. Doing this will consume more memory on your desktop. There is a benefit of this sandbox method if one tab crashes due to some reason, it won’t affect the other tab as they have their own processes. It makes chrome more stable. Chrome uses the ram to create these unique processes because the ram is faster than the hard disk and even SSD drives. This is why chrome uses large amount of RAM to provide stability and speed.

So now you know that every opened tab and running chrome extension uses the memory on your desktop or laptop. Chrome also uses more RAM to pre-render Web Pages which makes chrome faster than the other browsers. So now you understand why chrome is using so much memory on your desktop.

Steps to Optimize Memory Usage on Chrome

So if you’re using Chrome browser on a low-end pc with about 4 gigs of RAM. So for every tab opened and extension Chrome will use more memory from your PC. This will slow down your desktop, chrome will start freezing and will be not responsive. To tackle this issue follow the tweaks we’ve mentioned below to reduce chrome high memory usage.

Close Chrome tabs with high memory usage

With the development of technology, many things have changed now. There are high-resolution media formats and rich web pages that use a lot of memory. So if you are using these kinds of media on your tabs then it’ll increase the chrome ram usage which will slow down your PC. But with the help of chrome task manager, you can easily track tabs and extensions which are using high memory and close them. Below are the steps to close the chrome tabs which are using too much memory.

1. Press shift + ESC button to open the chrome task manager.
2. Now check the tabs memory usage from memory footprint.

3. Now can check which chrome tab is using too much memory from your device. You can select the process(tab) from the list and click on end process.
4. This will close the process, now check for the chrome memory usage.

If your chrome is still using too much memory then try the methods mentioned below.

Disable or Remove Unnecessary Chrome Extensions to Reduce Chrome Ram Usage

Chrome extension is very useful, they provide a lot of value to chrome. It enhances user experience and information. But due to some heavy extensions chrome can use a lot of memory from your device. This can cause chrome not responding issue. You can follow the steps mentioned below to remove unnecessary extensions from your chrome browser.

1. Click on the three dots from the top right side of the screen.

2. Now hover over more tools and from the more tools option click on the extensions. Or simply click here or visit chrome://extensions/ to open all your installed extensions on chrome.

3. Here you’ll find all the installed extensions on your chrome browser. You can click on the toggle to disable an extension or you can uninstall an extension by clicking on the remove button.

4. Remove all the unnecessary extensions from your chrome browser.

Now after uninstalling extensions check whether you chrome is still using too much memory. If you are using chrome we recommend you to check how you can transfer your bookmarks from one chrome browser to another.

Enable Hardware Acceleration to Fix Chrome Using too Much RAM

Hardware acceleration is a great feature used by many software. In hardware acceleration, some of the processing load is transferred to the graphic unit of your device which reduces the load on CPU and RAM. This method can fix the Google chrome takes too much RAM issue. Follow the steps below to enable hardware acceleration on chrome.

1. Click on the three dots from the top right side
2. Now click on settings.

3. Scroll down and click on the advanced option.

4. Now scroll down again and click on the toggle next to “Use hardware acceleration when available” to enable hardware acceleration

Now check ram usage if chrome is still using too much memory or not.

If you’re using an older version of chrome, it can use a lot of memory on your pc. To fix this issue update your chrome to the latest version from here compatible with your device.

Disable Chrome Background Processes

After closing chrome, you can still see that some chrome processes are running in the background which consumes memory on your desktop. Follow the steps below to stop chrome background processes.

1. Click on the three dots from the top right side of the screen.
2. Click on settings.
3. Scroll down and click on the advanced

4. Again scroll down and turn off the toggle next to “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed” 

Now chrome will not run any background processes after closing your chrome browser.

Conclusion: Chrome uses too much memory to provide stability and speed for your browsing experience. If you can using a low end PC then close the chrome tabs with high memory usage or disable or remove any unnecessary chrome extension for fix chrome high memory usage issue.

If you’ve any other query related to chrome browser kindly let us know from the comment box. And if you’re using Firefox check our updated post on how you can access and manage Firefox saved password and logins.

FAQ on Chrome High Memory Usage