How to Turn Hardware Acceleration On or Off in Chrome in Just 1 Minute

Have you ever noticed your Chrome browser slowing down when you watch videos or use web apps? This could be because your CPU is overworked or your GPU is not being used. Enabling hardware acceleration in Chrome can solve this problem.

This feature increases performance by utilizing your GPU to do tasks like video playback and graphics rendering. But, there can be issues where glitches or crashes occur, which makes someone want to turn it off or on, depending on the system behaviour.

StatCounter reported that Google Chrome holds more than 65% of the market share. It’s the most used browser in the world. Many users don’t know that some changes can improve or hurt browsing performance.

In this blog, we will cover every detail regarding hardware acceleration in Chrome — What it does, when to use it, and how to toggle it on or off.

What is Hardware Acceleration in Chrome?

Hardware acceleration is the way a browser optimally retrieves and uses resources from different parts of your computer. For Chrome browsers, intensive tasks are handled by the GPU rather than the CPU.

Importance Of Doing So

• Most multitasking computers have a dedicated graphics processor that handles video and picture tasks like editing and games.
• In addition, it lessens the work being done on the processor and enhances efficiency and the level of smoothness during browsing.

For instance, a 4K YouTube video stream. With Chrome’s hardware acceleration, your graphics processor will decode and render video data, which prevents sluggishness and excessive CPU utilization.

The Key Benefits of Hardware Acceleration in Google Chrome

• A higher quality of video playback during YouTube and other video-sharing website sessions.
• Scrolling through web pages that contain lots of graphs, illustrations, or even animations becomes much more fluid.
• The use of processors goes significantly lower while consuming much less energy, while being more efficient.

But there is a downside to it.

Some users experience screen flickers, tabs not responding, or the browser closing unexpectedly due to outdated drivers and unsupported graphics cards, which can be addressed.

Learning enables core and discovering the pros revolve around browser logic performance, turning off to stabilize settings instability for its usability.

When Should You Turn On or Off Hardware Acceleration?

While having hardware acceleration can be advantageous in some scenarios, it is not best suited for all computers in every situation.

Enable Hardware Acceleration If

• You very often watch HD video content or stream 4K videos.
• You use web-based applications that have animated or 3D graphics, like Figma or Canva. 
• Your computer has a dedicated, powerful GPU or graphics card.

Disable Hardware Acceleration If

• The browser starts freezing and lagging randomly, or crashes without warning.
• You experience graphics rendering issues and screen flickering while watching videos.
• Your computer has older hardware and outdated graphics drivers.

In trial and error, finding the correct settings can sometimes be more beneficial than starting from the best logic. If you’re unsure, change the setting and check Chrome performance for a week. Determining performance metrics for the OS can also be helpful.

However, the essential point covered remains whether enabling hardware acceleration aids or hampers your browser experience. Following this section, we’ll show you how to enable or disable it in Chrome.

How to Turn Hardware Acceleration On or Off in Chrome

Use this guide to enable or disable hardware acceleration in Chrome. This guide is applicable to all devices, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

1. As always, open up Google Chrome.
2. Now, click on the three-dot menu (⋮) found at the upper right corner, then click Settings from the dropdown list.
   
3. From the left part of the sidebar, click on the System. Alternatively, you can directly go to chrome://settings/system by typing it in the address bar.
   
4. Look for the setting labelled: Use graphics acceleration when available.
   
5. Use the toggle to change the setting to:
   • To enable hardware acceleration, use the toggle On.
   • To disable, toggle it Off.
6. After toggling the setting, Chrome will prompt to restart the browser. Press Relaunch to apply changes.
   

💡 Tip: If you want to check if hardware acceleration is on, go to the URL chrome://gpu. Look for messages such as “Hardware accelerated” or “Software only” for your status indications.

Final Thoughts

Using hardware acceleration in Chrome can boost your browser’s speed. However, it might not be effective for everyone. If you experience image flickering, video stuttering, freezing, or lag, it’s a good idea to turn off hardware acceleration. If you have a good GPU or are a dedicated Chrome user who uses heavy media web apps, enabling acceleration can help.

You can turn hardware acceleration on or off in Chrome easily. Just click a button in the system settings. This makes it easy to switch back and forth. Please note that Chrome needs to be closed and reopened for the changes to take effect.

Adjust this setting if Chrome crashes often or runs slowly. Even a small change can boost performance. Keeping drivers and Chrome updated is smart. It helps when you’re fixing issues.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hardware Acceleration in Chrome

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about Google Chrome’s hardware acceleration feature. They may help you out.