Love Firefox but sorry it's slower!


Recommended Posts

I love firefox.. my favorite browser.. and it's always been some what speedy to me.. but the 3.5 release just seems very slow and some what laggy(slow loading menu's, start up/exit). Has anyone else noticed things like this? Also I'm not running any Extensions.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/792304-love-firefox-but-sorry-its-slower/
Share on other sites

I've had this happen to me. It seems after a while, something happens, and the browser doesn't respond as quickly. I can close the browser and then continue on, and it'll be fine, but it's annoying when I've got windows open

Don't remember this happening before with 3.1

I've had no problems at all. It's sped up a little bit for me, but it was already bloody fast to begin with. On my computer and laptop, it's faster than Safari 4, and Google Chrome 3. Yes, I know the benchmarks say that Chrome is faster than Firefox, but not here! :p

I've had this happen to me. It seems after a while, something happens, and the browser doesn't respond as quickly. I can close the browser and then continue on, and it'll be fine, but it's annoying when I've got windows open

Don't remember this happening before with 3.1

I was on 3.0.11 and it was fine, never had an issue.

Firefox has suddenly hung for a second or two. However, I don't know what's causing it, and it's only happened twice so far, the first when it was still labeled RC3.

At all other times though, it's been much faster than Firefox 3, so I'm pretty sure whatever the next few patches bring will fix the minor hang issue. But in the meantime, I'm considering just starting over with a, "Clean" install anyway.

Firefox can get laggy when the Places database (all your history, bookmarks, etc.) get too big. Mine's close to 100MB (this isn't the cache--this is history, bookmarks, etc.!); there's a world of difference when I start Firefox with a fresh profile (but with the same settings, extensions, etc.) than with my existing profile. Making sure that the places db is defragged helps a bit (b/c it's accessed and written to every time you hit a URL of any sort).

If you cut all the nice features Firefox has and other browsers don't, it would be very fast. Sorry, but absolutely nothing is perfect for everyone. Get used to it and stop bashing this wonderful piece of software with silly milliseconds comparisons. This is purely childish behavior.

3.5 is slow here too. Not a lot slower but it is noticeable.

I certainly don't know why they're claiming all these performance improvements and IE8 seems faster than Firefox at this stage.

Because for many of us, Firefox 3.5 has been much faster than it used to. I'm really curious as to how it's actually noticeably slower than usual for you guys. I've experienced nothing but good results on the number of computers I've installed it on, including those crappy $300 Compaqs. :pinch:

I know it shouldn't matter at all either, considering I've upgraded from 3.0 -> 3.5 on a few of them as well, but have you tried a clean install?

Edit: Also, I run a number of addons, but that has never really slowed the performance at all.

I have to agree. Not only is the initial loading a little slower, but the browsing experience seems sluggish.

Also, I've been having trouble loading my usernames and passwords from FF3.0.11.

And a lot of extensions that I use still don't work (yes, I've done the maxVersion trick and installed Nightly Tester Tools, but they just force the extensions to install, but it doesn't mean they'll work properly).

3.5=epic f4il.

Firefox can get laggy when the Places database (all your history, bookmarks, etc.) get too big. Mine's close to 100MB (this isn't the cache--this is history, bookmarks, etc.!); there's a world of difference when I start Firefox with a fresh profile (but with the same settings, extensions, etc.) than with my existing profile. Making sure that the places db is defragged helps a bit (b/c it's accessed and written to every time you hit a URL of any sort).

Yeah, I've noticed. I was wondering why Firefox ran slowly... when I realized I had history entries dating back months ago :|

After going to Chrome, Firefox feels bloated! 3.5 fixed some issues but Chrome still beats it by far. Once it gets dedicated extension support (the process to install adsweep is lengthy and complicated for your average user), and gets the ability to manage filetypes, it will be the best browser out there!

Firefox could learn a thing or two from Google, especially the idea of making each tab its own process so you don't crash all your tabs, but rather you can close that one and keep the remainder running

3.5 is slow here too. Not a lot slower but it is noticeable.

I certainly don't know why they're claiming all these performance improvements and IE8 seems faster than Firefox at this stage.

Because it is faster, if you're having slow downs the only things I can suggest are trying safe mode or a new profile.

Performance hasn't gotten worse for me, but I notice that memory usage is still crazy.

Memory usage is pretty good for what it has to store, better than other browsers.

And if it doesn't use the memory, it's wasted.

...

Firefox could learn a thing or two from Google, especially the idea of making each tab its own process so you don't crash all your tabs, but rather you can close that one and keep the remainder running

You know IE also does the "process per tab" thing, right?

They are working on it though, sharing code with the Chrome guys (open source is nice that way)

Found this:

What finally produced a dramatic increase in speed of loading was erasing (just about) everything from my Users\AppData\Local\Temp folder that Richard suggested. Then Firefox loaded in about two seconds. I had something like 15,000 files in that Temp folder.

Also seems suggested to go to your IE options and clear your cache/temp files there too. Hope that helps.

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

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • 47% profit margin? Wtf!! I know companies are in business to make money but come on man. I know for a fact I'll never own one of these.
    • Most AI-powered mainframe migration vendors expected to fail by 2030, Gartner warns by Paul Hill Credit: Pexels You may have read that many companies still run code written in ancient programming languages like COBOL and pay a handsome sum for those who can maintain that code. Well, it looks like this area of the tech world could be the scene of an AI bubble. It turns out that there are mainframe exit vendors, helping companies move their legacy mainframe systems to modern cloud environments or servers such as Microsoft Azure and AWS, using generative AI tooling. Unfortunately, 75% of these vendors are now expected to pivot or cease operations as market realities take hold by 2030. Alessandro Galimberti from Gartner said: Some of the companies in the mainframe exit market are IBM, 21CS, BMC, Broadcom, Rocket Software, DXC, GTSG, and Kyndryl. The reasons some of these firms are expected to quit the market are a reset of market expectations and a decline in demand for one-size-fits-all migration solutions. The reset in expectations is likely to be driven by cost overruns and threats to business, and the potential occurrence of critical failures within businesses as a result of bad transition implementations. These insights from Gartner are pretty interesting because it’s a specific area of the market where doubt is being cast on generative AI. Many people have cast doubt on whether AI companies will successfully justify the massive amounts spent on GenAI to date, and this data from Gartner suggests the road could be rocky for GenAI.
    • Heaven forbid they lose pennies from their Trillions! Like always, the consumer pays the most. Why is Tim Cooks even talking.....shouldn't he be packing up his office??
    • If you have the budget...! Some solo or indies just want to either learn or start their game and aren't in a capacity to pay salaries or to contractors... Get real.
    • Source and more 35 years old?! And if my maths is mathing, that means she was around 10 when The Ring came out?! Damn...scariest 10 year old I think I've ever seen. 
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Classifyskilleducation earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      eurospharma62 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      With What earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Harris Gilbert earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Vincian earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      537
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      168
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      76
    4. 4
      neufuse
      64
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      63
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!