17 hours Ago
As a longtime Brave browser user, I made the switch to Microsoft Edge, due to the plethora of useful integrated features . However, whenever I use Performance Monitor to check on my system’s RAM and CPU usage, it seems like Edge takes up an inordinate number of resources. Thankfully, you can prevent Microsoft Edge from hogging memory and processing power and chewing up resources, but you’ll need to manually make these tweaks.
In my experience, it seemed like Microsoft Edge was doing heavy lifting – even when it wasn’t open. After a bit of sleuthing, I discovered that Edge is constantly running in the background. Microsoft wants Edge to be fast, so to ensure it boots up quick and provides a snappy browsing experience, it’s kept running at all times.
Microsoft claims that Edge’s “always on” status, named “Startup Boost,” uses minimal system resources and doesn’t have a significant impact on system performance. Color me skeptical, but the very fact that you can turn this off suggests that Microsoft doesn’t even get behind that claim 100 percent. Fortunately, turning off Startup Boost is simple.
Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of Edge, then click the Settings icon. This will open a new tab that allows you to tinker with the default settings. Click on System and Performance on the left, and toggle the switch for the Startup Boost option to Off.
All browsers want to deliver fast performance and minimize hiccups that can cause interruptions. Microsoft Edge is no different. To assist in this mission, Edge utilizes “preloading.
” Preloading is not unique to Edge , as many browsers have it. Edge pursues preloading aggressively, which can chew up resources. In an effort to keep things as simple as possible, think of preloading as the browser predicting what the user is going to do before they do it.
The browser then fetches the resources necessary to load the next page or other action – all before the user executes the command. This requires your browser to do extra work, grabbing and storing information to make browsing faster and more seamless, but this can bog things down. To turn off preloading, click on the three dots in the upper right of your Edge browser, then click on Settings .
On the Settings page, click on Cookie and Site Permissions on the left, then Manage and delete cookies and site data . Finally, toggle off Preload pages for faster browsing and searching . New tabs are littered with snippets of news, sports scores and clickbait headlines .
Fortunately, you can turn this off so that Microsoft Edge won’t waste resources grabbing all of that junk every time you open a new tab. Click on the three dots in the upper-right corner, then on Settings . Click Start, home and new tab from the options on the left.
Under New tab page , click on the Customize button. Alternatively, open a new tab, and click on the cog icon in the upper right. You can toggle various options on the “ Page Settings ” menu.
Feel free to experiment, as you can mix and match what is displayed based on your personal preference. If you’re experiencing a slowdown due to Edge, turn everything off. If you want to be more judicious, start by turning off Quick links to remove suggested webpages based on previous activity.
Next, flick Show content to the Off position to eliminate all of the suggested content: no more links, headlines or ads. Instead, you’ll be left with the Bing background of the day and a simple search bar. If you want to go a step further, toggle off the background for a particular spartan aesthetic.
Why does everyone insist on autoplaying videos ? Not only does it require extra resources, but it’s just plain annoying. Thankfully, you can turn this off in Microsoft Edge to conserve resources, saving your sanity. Open the Settings menu by clicking the three dots in the top right of the Edge browser and selecting Settings .
Click on Cookies and site permissions from the options on the left. Scroll down and click on Media autoplay . Use the drop-down option on Control if audio and video play automatically on sites to nominate which videos play automatically.
Are you the type of person who keeps a million tabs open? We hate to break it to you, but all of those tabs are consuming valuable resources. Fortunately, you can make sure Edge puts resources to sleep once they’ve been deemed inactive. Putting tabs to sleep helps conserve system resources , improving performance and battery life in Microsoft Edge.
Click on the three dots in the upper right, then click on Settings -> System and performance . Scroll down to Save resources with sleeping tabs , and toggle this setting On. Nominate how long you want Edge to wait before putting tabs to sleep.
Use the drop-down box labelled Put inactive tabs to sleep after the specified amount of time to select a time frame. Options range from 30 seconds to 12 hours. Selecting a shorter option should result in better performance.
It’s also worth noting that you can whitelist specific websites. This can be handy for websites that need to constantly update, like eBay or a ticketing website. If these tabs go to sleep, it prevents the site from updating the countdown timers.
Efficiency Mode optimizes Edge’s CPU and RAM usage. In addition to maintaining browser performance while reducing resource consumption, it reduces battery consumption. It does this by automatically reducing CPU and GPU usage and adopting a more aggressive stance when it puts tabs to sleep.
In my opinion, Efficiency Mode most benefits systems with limited resources, such as budget or older devices with weaker CPUs and less RAM. I’ve had mixed results with it, but it’s definitely worth a shot to see whether it improves performance with your system configuration. Click the three dots in the top-right corner and click on Settings -> System and performance .
Under Optimize performance , toggle on Efficiency Mode , and select Balanced Savings or Maximize Savings . Edge details the difference between these options, so apply the one that best applies to your system configuration. Toggle on the Turn on efficiency mode when connected to power option.
If you use your PC for gaming, you can also turn on the Improve your PC gaming experience with efficiency mode option to reduce CPU usage when playing games. If you’re really struggling with Microsoft Edge resource consumption, play around with the Resource Controls. I recommend experimenting with all of the other settings mentioned above before doing so, as Resource Controls allows you to manually cap how much RAM Edge consumes.
Limiting the amount of RAM too aggressively may result in even worse performance. Regrettably, there is no “one size fits all” setting, so experimentation is necessary to find the sweet spot for you and your system. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the browser, and select Settings -> System and Performance .
Under Manage your performance , toggle Resource controls on. Use the slider or drop-down menu to dictate how much of your system’s RAM is allocated to Microsoft Edge. Additionally, you can choose to limit the RAM when playing PC games or at all times.
Again, keep in mind that limiting the RAM too aggressively can result in poor performance, so you’ll need to tinker to determine what is best for your system’s configuration. Microsoft Edge is an exciting browser that has made significant improvements since launching in 2015. Various features are being integrated into Edge to differentiate it from the crowded field of internet browsers.
Is there room for improvement? Of course. But Microsoft is indicating that it is supporting Edge for the long haul by consistently improving the user experience. Having granular control of how your browser feels and operates is almost a non-negotiable these days, and Microsoft is making sure Edge can be tweaked and customized to ensure that users have the best experience.
In addition to the performance tweaks mentioned above, there are also a plethora of Microsoft Edge customizations you can apply to increase your productivity . If you want to eliminate Windows’s preinstalled default browser, you can always uninstall it . Image credit: Unsplash .
All screenshots by Ryan Lynch. Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox Ryan is an English & Film Studies teacher. He splits his time between Australia and the United States.
He passes the time on long haul flights by playing retro video games from his youth..
