If you are using Chrome, we wouldn’t be surprised, as we all know Chrome uses a lot of RAM. Despite the fact that Chrome consumes a significant amount of RAM, it remains one of the most popular and favored browsers among users. To prevent Chrome or any other browser from freezing, we need to apply some settings that are intended to reduce RAM usage, which should automatically fix this issue.
1. Disable Hardware Acceleration
You will find the Hardware acceleration feature on every browser. When this feature is enabled, it offloads tasks to another hardware component, such as GPU. So the browser can run more smoothly and render more web pages. However, using the hardware acceleration feature may also lead to crashes and freezes, as it requires a significant amount of RAM. Therefore, if you are utilizing this feature, consider disabling it by following these steps. If you are using a browser other than Chrome, the following steps might vary.
2. Remove Unnecessary Extensions
Using unnecessary extensions is also among the leading causes. It is because Chrome runs the extensions in the background even if you are not using them, which also causes a significant amount of RAM consumption, leading to freezing while watching videos. To remove the unnecessary extensions, follow the steps:
3. Clear Browser Cache
Your browser can also freeze due to corrupted cache data. Browsers create cache files to store frequently visited sites, cookies, and other data such as files and images. This helps reduce the loading time as the browser doesn’t need to send the request to the server for the data as it can fetch it from the cache files. Therefore, if there is a problem with the cache files, it could freeze the browser and videos. So try clearing the browser cache with the help of the following steps. If you are not using the Chrome browser, the following steps might be different.
4. Install or Update the Graphics driver
This step is necessary for those users who don’t have a dedicated GPU but have an integrated GPU. Some users are unaware of the iGPU. It is an integrated GPU that is built directly into the CPU. It uses the system’s memory as a VRAM. The amount of VRAM in an iGPU depends on the overall RAM installed on your PC. Therefore, if you have an iGPU but are not utilizing it, you may experience crashes or freezes while watching YouTube or other videos. A video also requires rendering, which can either be performed by a dedicated GPU or an iGPU. So, if you don’t have a dedicated GPU but have an iGPU, you should ensure that its drivers are properly installed. Running videos on a system without an iGPU or a discrete GPU can cause the videos to freeze or even crash. Therefore, make sure to install drivers if you have an iGPU. To do so, follow these steps:
5. Enable XMP if possible
XMP or Extreme Memory Profiles allows users to run the RAM at the intended speed, which means you can use the maximum performance of your RAM. If your RAM and motherboard support the XMP feature, you should definitely enable the XMP. This will overclock your RAM, which helps run the browsers smoothly, especially the browsers which consume high RAM usage like Chrome. To use the XMP, follow the steps:
7. Run in a Clean Boot
A clean boot is a process that prevents unnecessary services and third-party applications from running at the starup. Usually, this troubleshooting process is used to prevent interference from third-party applications. However, as we know, Chrome consumes a significant amount of Ram usage, so it is recommended to make sure there are no background applications consuming of RAM usage, especially if they are idle. In this case, we can try performing a clean boot which will prevent the irrelevant applications from consuming memory usage. This will help run Chrome smoothly. To perform a clean boot:
Still not resolved?
It is not necessary to use a browser that keeps freezing while watching a video. There are many browsers available; you can choose the best one for yourself that does not consume high computing resources. We have a complete guide on browsers for low-end devices. You can visit the guide to select the best one to prevent this issue again.
