How to Enhance the Performance of Firefox Quantum?

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Firefox Quantum is a web-browser released lately to address some of the issues that existed in the previous Firefox browser.

It has been built with several sub-subsystems developed in the Servo project, which is currently being developed with the collaboration of Samsung. The traditional Firefox uses the Gecko web engine to render its web-pages, but Quantum has changed its tack and enhances its performance by incorporating several sub-projects that are currently being developed at Mozilla. The key goal is to improve the performance of Firefox and transform it into a serious challenger for the pole position in the web browser market niche.

 

Solutions

Solution 1: Update Firefox

Software programs are human creations, and will forever be prone to errors. Software developers often release patches to address such issues, so users may have to keep their system up-to-date with such patches in order to lessen various performance issues related to the software. The same holds true for Firefox Quantum as well. Luckily, Firefox automatically deploys latest updates through its application, so the users don’t have to check for latest updates often. However, sometimes this mechanism isn’t triggered; hence the updates have to be checked for manually. Here is how to do so:

  1. Launch Firefox Quantum.
  2. Click the three-horizontal-lines button to open up the main menu.
  3. Locate Help and click on it to expand the list.
  4. Now click on About Firefox.
  5. Firefox Quantum will now check for the latest updates and download any updates that are available.

    Update scan in progress

 

Solution 2: Update Graphics Driver

Firefox Quantum uses hardware accelerator, just like any other modern web browser. The hardware acceleration is powered by the Graphics adapter (GPU) instead of the Central Processing Unit (CPU). The advantage of preferring the GPU over the CPU is that this method leads to an improvement in the user experience. However, the Graphics adapter often requires latest updates in order to maintain its performance, and compatibility with various software applications. The following steps state how and from where the required drivers can be obtained, and how to recognize the currently installed Graphics adapter in the system.

  1. Open up the start menu, and then search for dxdiag.
  2. Open DirectX Diagnostic Tool from the Best match section.
  3. Select the Display tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
  4. Note down the name of the Graphics adapter and search for it on a search engine by adding up the word drivers as a suffix. For instance, if the currently installed Graphics adapter is GTX 1080, you should search for GTX 1080 Drivers.
  5. Use the appropriate web URL to download the driver. Usually, the first link is the correct/genuine link most of the times.
  6. Download and install the update for the Graphics adapter.
  7. Finally, restart the computer for all changes to seamlessly take effect.

 

Solution 3: Adjust the Options

Firefox Quantum allows users to customize its functionality as they desire through its interface. Like in the previous versions, this feature resides in the Options section.

  1. Access the Options area in Firefox through its main menu by clicking on the three-horizontal-lined button.
  2. Scroll down until you come to the Performance section. Simply select the checkbox for Use recommended performance settings option. This selection sets the performance settings based on the hardware and the operating system, and their performance.

    Selecting the relevant checkbox

 

Solution 4: Clear the Browser Cache/Site Data

Websites consist of different types of files that work together to make it an optimum experience for the user. When a particular website is visited by the user, the browser sends out a request to the server where the website is hosted. The server then responds with the relevant files of the respective website to the browser where the user can access them. This process happens every single time a user visits a website. However, with the advancement of technology, now many browsers store these files temporarily on the client side, also known as browser cache. This neat feature not only reduces web traffic but also decreases the load time of a website. However, these files can pile up over time, and drastically reduce the performance of the browser. So they must be purged occasionally to freshen up the browser and optimize its performance. The following steps demonstrate how to remove the cache, and also site data to improve the overall browser performance.

  1. Open Options through Firefox Quantum main menu.
  2. Scroll down until you locate the Cached Web Content heading. Click on both Clear Now and Clear All Data to empty both the browser cache as well as browser data.

    Cleaning up the Browser Cache

 

Solution 5: Disable Resource Hogging Extensions

Extensions are used to extend the functionality of a web-browser. These extensions are readily available in the Mozilla Add-ons for Firefox page from where they can be installed straight into the browser with a simple click. Extensions are sometimes written by amateur developers who don’t have much experience in optimizing the code, which often leads to performance issues with the web browser. The following steps demonstrate how to identify such resource hogging extensions, and how to remove them with ease.

  1. Type about:support in the address bar of Firefox Quantum and press Enter to get to the support page where all extensions installed in the browser are listed out.
  2. Depending on the extension’s functionality, perform an action that makes it execute its functionality, e.g. visiting a site that throws up ads to check an ad block extension.
  3. Open another tab, and type about:memory in the address bar. This command will take you to a page where the performance can be measured with numbers. In the Show memory reports section, click Measure to analyze the performance of the current instance of the web browser. As seen in the following screenshot, it has a zone for each tab, and each extension is listed out here with the consumed memory and its percentage. The greater the memory is consumed, the more it decreases the overall browser performance. Identify memory hogging extensions from here, and note them down. It’s important to keep in mind that some extension may use more memory if they’ve been requested to accomplish a very heavy task. For instance, if a website contains a lot of ads, the ad blocking add-on may consume much more memory than it’s normal levels.
  4. Navigate to the Extension section.
  5. Remove the identified culprits from the browser by clicking the Remove button. They can also be disabled temporary if you think they will be required later on.
Raza Ali Kazmi
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Raza Ali Kazmi works as an editor and technology content writer at Sorcim Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. He loves to pen down articles on a wide array of technology related topics and has also been diligently testing software solutions on Windows & Mac platforms. If you have any question about the content, you can message me or the company's support team.