Recommended Posts

I tried Firefox HA mode and it just make Firefox dramatically slowed down. The UI rendering is so laggy and the web rendering of youtube when scrolling is considerable laggy too. Firefox renders and scrolls youtube fine when HA is off. IE9 renders youtube normally so can anyone explain the reason Firefox is so horrible at it? Or why bother with HA at all if it doesn't actually render Firefox faster?

Well, it might be due to several reason, I personally also victim of it so I am not gonna defend Firefox but you can do several things to reduce impact of Hardware Acceleration.

1) Update your driver

2) Tweaking settings in about:config

Also can you tell me your addons list, might be some addon making your UI so slow. Firefox improved a lot since FF7 onward. FF13 is quite snappier than any earlier version.

Well, it might be due to several reason, I personally also victim of it so I am not gonna defend Firefox but you can do several things to reduce impact of Hardware Acceleration.

1) Update your driver

2) Tweaking settings in about:config

Also can you tell me your addons list, might be some addon making your UI so slow. Firefox improved a lot since FF7 onward. FF13 is quite snappier than any earlier version.

My addons are of the usual ones like adblockplus, greasemonkey,firebug,flashgot,User Style Manager, etc. I set my graphic driver to be updated automatically so it shouldn't be a problem. Firefox feels pretty snappy with HA off, so it must be their HA mode that slow it down.

What setting are you refering to in the config?

It's because FF HA mode is still young and hasn't matured hence why software mode works much better they've done all they can to make it fast and stable now it's time to try using something other than the CPU alot of browsers that are starting out with GPU acceleration are having problems with either speed or stability or both and like anything new it takes time to become good

I'm running a laptop with C2D T9300 and Nvidia 8600M GS with latest driver 296.10.

Today there are chances of new driver release, so make sure to update. I personally had issues with 296.10 so I am using currently 301.40 and it is much better than 296.10. Also new driver will be from same branch as 301.40.

Also should I suggest you once try Nightly for a while and tell us whether you feel any difference?

I was reading the Opera release thread and apparently they are offering both OpenGL and DirectX options. Is it posible that Mozilla could do the same? DirectX seems to be superior at doing HA in IE9 compare to OpenGL in Firefox. Does anyone have a lead on Mozilla HA's developement?

Firefox's hardware acceleration already uses DirectX (Has since 4.0), OpenGL isn't used by default because a bunch of cheap cards have either terrible or no support for it.

I've got a GTX 570 with full OpenGL support for the latest version, but Firefox still doesn't use it.

Firefox HWA is terrible because, (research! "lurksearch" {tm})

  1. Developers focus on Smart Phone Version
  2. Developers focus on Panorama, Smooth WebM playback and other things of little value.
  3. Developers do not have any way to test D3D10 performance for some reason, otherwise they would know it is slow.
  4. Most Developers use Macs.
  5. Aside from a developer called Bas, I don't know anyone who talks about Windows HWA.
  6. Developer's solution to Windows HWA problems is a BLACKLIST.
  7. Last performance improvement for HWA was Azure in FF7 which does NOTHING for helping YouTube, tab scrolling, etc.
  8. I also heard that a lot of rendering that is supposed to be accelerated falls back to software for GUI.
  9. They probably just don't care.

I was reading the Opera release thread and apparently they are offering both OpenGL and DirectX options. Is it posible that Mozilla could do the same? DirectX seems to be superior at doing HA in IE9 compare to OpenGL in Firefox. Does anyone have a lead on Mozilla HA's developement?

Well, Firefox already offer both Hardware Acceleration but Skia backend (OpenGL) can only turned on for canvas hardware acceleration. Azure Content Acceleration will be Nightly (FF15) turned, which is better than Cairo backend but it still uses Cairo as a backend but it is still better.

  • 11 months later...

Firefox HWA is terrible because, (research! "lurksearch" {tm})

  1. Developers focus on Smart Phone Version
  2. Developers focus on Panorama, Smooth WebM playback and other things of little value.
  3. Developers do not have any way to test D3D10 performance for some reason, otherwise they would know it is slow.
  4. Most Developers use Macs.
  5. Aside from a developer called Bas, I don't know anyone who talks about Windows HWA.
  6. Developer's solution to Windows HWA problems is a BLACKLIST.
  7. Last performance improvement for HWA was Azure in FF7 which does NOTHING for helping YouTube, tab scrolling, etc.
  8. I also heard that a lot of rendering that is supposed to be accelerated falls back to software for GUI.
  9. They probably just don't care.

I agree, when I used firefox on a linux recovery disk, it runs so much smoother than the windows version.Also firefox has a page where they classify the various versions, the classification affects how much dev focus it gets. Its notable that the windows version of firefox is not in the top classification.Trying to find the url now with the info but I found this out when looking for why is no 64bit windows version and then discovered because they dont treat windows as that important.Its sad but they consider mobile platforms and even metro as more important than 64bit windows desktop version.http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9234997/Mozilla_compromises_on_x64_Firefox_after_user_backlashLinux and even mac os (a OS I consider irrelevant on desktop) have 64bit firefox. For whatever reason firefox dev's treat windows as a 2nd class OS.Firefox is probably my most power hungry app, it draws mroe resources from my PC than even some games, right now its using 1.1gig of ram and a 32bit version can only address 2 gig. It also crashes often and slows down a lot, I remain curious if these issues would be resolved with a 64bit version, as now days a browser is not just for web pages, its used as a launcher for apps and multimedia.On the Hw acceleration this is highlighted a lot.Firefox 3 using software rendering runs very smooth, but of course it doesnt support many of today's modern web features. However if disabling hw acceleration in firefox 20 (or any new version) the software mode is slower than it was in firefox 3's day because it now has no focus on it plus features are been added that bog it down. Hardware mode is smooth if the 3d card is moderatly powerful and isnt throttled back. using firefox puts a lot of load on my nvidia card, it hits high temperatures and is often on 3d clocks, it I use an app to force the card to stay in 2d idle mode (which Ie can handle) firefox becomes jerk city, it struggles to even scroll pages like neowin forums. It is extremely power hungry and clearly not very optimised.See this alsohttp://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/11/64-bit-firefox-for-windows-should-be-prioritized-not-suspended/Here is the link for dev priority, found it. Windows 64 tier 3. linux 64 tier 1.https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Supported_build_configurations

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Spotify finally removes the disco ball app icon in the latest update by Ivan Jenic Image: Spotify Spotify has just released an update that removes its now infamous disco ball icon. The update reverts the app icon to the familiar flat green logo after weeks of mixed reactions online. The icon arrived on May 13 as part of the company's 20th anniversary celebration and was always intended to be temporary, though Spotify only confirmed that after the backlash started. The disco ball took the internet by storm, as the reception was split. A vocal group of users called it ugly and disorienting, with some iOS users noting that the 3D glowing effect made the app look like it was stuck mid-update. On the other end, the icon picked up a following of its own. Its retro, three-dimensional look immediately stood out against the flat, minimalist aesthetic that has dominated app design for years. It even started a small movement, spawning what people started calling "discomorphism," a mashup of disco and skeuomorphism. Other brands started posting disco ball versions of their own logos, probably in an effort to ride the wave of memes that flooded the internet during late May. Spotify has had a turbulent relationship with its user base lately. Besides the disco ball icon, which certainly wasn't appreciated by everyone, the company has also received backlash for its willingness to include AI-generated music on its platform. On May 17, Spotify promised the old icon would return “in a few weeks.” And now it looks like that time has finally arrived. So, whether you liked the disco ball or it made you uncomfortable, it’s now gone for good. The next time you update the Spotify app on your phone, the old, flat-design icon will return.
    • Playground Games confirms Forza Horizon 6 save wipe bug by Taras Buria Forza Horizon 6 was launched last month to critical acclaim (check out our review here), and it became a smash hit in an instant. Now, weeks into the launch, with die-hard fans clocking hundreds of hours, Forza Horizon 6 is facing a serious issue: save wipes. After multiple complaints on Reddit and social media, the studio issued a statement. The problem with missing saves came shortly after Playground Games promised the initial batch of gameplay tweaks and improvements. Unfortunately, there seems to be no temporary fixes for those affected by unexpected save wipes. However, the studio published a new support document with a few important steps users should try. First, affected gamers should open a support ticket immediately (go here to file one) so that the support team can try recovering the lost progress by reverting to an earlier save. Playground Games says this should be done the same day the issue occurs. Meanwhile, gamers are urged not to start new play sessions or create new saves. The studio also published a few things gamers should try to avoid to prevent potential progress loss: Ensure your Gaming Services app on PC or XBOX Series X|S console is fully up to date. On XBOX Series X|S consoles, disable Quick Resume for Forza Horizon 6: To disable Forza Horizon 6 from using Quick Resume, highlight the game box art anywhere in the console experience (Home, My Games & Apps, Pins, etc) and then press the Menu button, then go to Manage game and add-ons > Quick Resume settings > Disable Quick Resume. Ensure you are online when ‘quitting’ the game. Give your saved time to sync to the cloud before powering off or switching devices. Do not force quit the game during save screens. Do not power off the device during gameplay. Always "Quit" (console) or "Exit to desktop" (PC) once you've finished your play session, ensuring the save icon is not visible when you’re closing the game. Before turning off your console, shutting down your PC, or force-closing the Steam app, give your devices or clients at least a few minutes to ensure your latest progress has been synchronized with the cloud. This will reduce the risk of progress reversions as you switch between different platforms. XBOX Series X|S consoles, Steam, and the XBOX app on PC all include game save indicators that confirm your progress has been synced. You can read more about the bug in the official support document here. Forza Horizon 6 is currently available on PC (Steam and the Microsoft Store), Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass. The game is also coming to PlayStation 5 later this year.
    • If only Windows would have a toggle switch labeled "Get the latest updates as soon as possible" inside Windows Update settings... But nah, let's hide the new stuff inside a controlled feature rollout, even if the user is explicitly asking for the new stuff as soon as possible. Awesome idea!
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      slackerzz earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Year In
      highriskpaym earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      highriskpaym earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      highriskpaym earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      FBSPL earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      508
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      197
    3. 3
      +Edouard
      157
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      84
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      74
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!