How to Speed Up Edge Browser and Reduce CPU Resource Consumption

Many users suffer from the slowness of the Edge browser and high CPU resource consumption, negatively impacting the browsing experience and leading to overall device performance slowdown.

In this article, we will review a set of techniques and settings that contribute to speeding up the Edge browser and reducing CPU consumption, relying on several reliable sources and real user experiences.

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Updating the Browser and Managing Extensions

Updating Edge to the Latest Version

The Microsoft development team is keen on adding periodic improvements to browser performance and fixing security vulnerabilities. To ensure you’re using the latest version:

• Open the browser menu

  

  then select Settings.
• Go to About Microsoft Edge.
• The browser will automatically check for updates and install them if available.

If you find it updated, it will write Microsoft Edge is up to date.

The option below is not just for automatic updates but also for automatic updates through the data network. Do not activate it to avoid consuming your balance.

You may be interested in: Updating Google Chrome for PC

Disabling or Removing Unnecessary Extensions

Extensions represent an important part of enhancing browser functionality, but they can consume CPU resources as well as memory. To speed up Edge and reduce CPU consumption, do the following:

• Open Settings then select Extensions.
• Review the list of installed extensions and disable or remove any extension you do not regularly use.
• It is preferable to keep official extensions or those provided by trusted sources to reduce the likelihood of resource consumption.

Adjusting Internal Edge Settings

Managing Cookies and Cache Files

The accumulation of cookies and cache files leads to slow page loading over time. To limit this:

• Go to Settings then Privacy and services
  
  .
• Under the Clear browsing data section, choose to periodically clear cookies and cache files.
• You can set up automatic cleaning when closing the browser to free up cache memory.

Enabling the Efficiency Mode

The latest versions of Edge offer the Efficiency Mode feature that reduces CPU and memory consumption when minimal chip usage is sufficient:

• Go to Settings then to System and performance.
• Enable the Save power for background sites or Efficiency Mode option.
• You will notice a significant improvement in CPU consumption, especially when opening a large number of tabs.

Using the Sleeping Tabs Feature

Sleeping tabs stop the activity of pages that have not been used for a while, reducing the load on CPU and memory:

• In Settings under System and performance, enable Sleeping tabs.
• You can specify the idle time before putting a tab into sleep mode (like 5 minutes or more).
• This feature gives a significant boost to Edge’s performance when opening dozens of tabs.

Improving CPU Consumption

Adjusting CPU Usage via Task Manager

You can monitor CPU consumption from within Edge itself:

• Press Shift + Esc to open Edge’s task manager.
• Review the processes that consume the highest CPU (CPU) and memory (Memory).
• Click on the process then choose End process to close the tabs or extensions causing slowness.

Disabling Hardware Acceleration

In some cases, hardware acceleration via the graphics card may increase pressure on the CPU:

• Go to Settings then System and performance.
• Disable the option Use hardware acceleration when available.
• Restart the browser to notice the difference in CPU consumption.

Using External Tools to Improve Performance

System Cleaning Programs

Some external tools depend on cleaning system files and the registry and optimizing the browsing history, positively reflecting on Edge’s speed:

• You can rely on programs like CCleaner or BleachBit to remove temporary files and speed it up.
• It is preferred to run this tool periodically but with caution when modifying the registry.

Windows Settings to Enhance Performance

General system settings affect the browser’s responsiveness:

• In the Windows Settings menu, go to System > About > Advanced system settings and choose Adjust for best performance to disable unnecessary visual effects.
• Ensure that graphics card drivers are updated and set the high performance mode (High Performance) in power options.

Additional Tips to Speed Up Microsoft Edge

In addition to the previous steps, users can adopt some practices to enhance Edge’s performance:

• Use cloud storage services to reduce opening locally heavy content tabs.
• Try browsing pages in dark mode in Edge Dark Mode to reduce battery and resource consumption on laptops.
• Adjusting font size and pages in settings reduces the intensive re-scaling operations of pages.

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Frequently Asked Questions