Since the advent of the World Wide Web, dubbed the Internet, surfing tools have begun to develop at a frantic pace. The main tool used is web browsers. But not all of them are equivalent in their capabilities and the load that they can exert on the system. Let's try to figure out which browser least loads the system, taking into account the main technical characteristics and reviews of ordinary users.
What is the load on the system?
To understand the meaning of the load, you should directly examine the currently loaded content contained on a specific web resource. It is clear, after all, that if a site is a resource on which only text is presented, there is nothing to talk about. The system reads the text in any encoding and does not particularly strain.
The question of which browser least loads the system should be considered in terms of multimedia content or development tools provided by the browsers themselves.
If we talk about multimedia, you should immediately take into account that the processing tools provided by browsers by default in major versions of programs are often supplemented by a fairly large number of special plug-ins. Take at least the same Adobe Flash Player, which is responsible for the high-quality reproduction of animation, graphics and sound.
Thus, the actual question will be not so much about which browser eats the least resources, but about how resource-intensive the additional plug-in is, because the browser itself in its pure form may not work with some elements of web pages.
Key performance options
If we consider the main characteristics of the most famous and most often used surfing tools on the Internet, in the first place for any user or tester is the speed of launching the program from the executable file and the speed of opening pages.
Unfortunately, many users who are trying to figure out which browser loads less CPU or RAM often go past application startup options. So to say, in their pure form after installation, they all start quickly enough. This is due only to the fact that they do not have plugins connected, the cache is not full, there is no history of visits, etc.
Over time, even the most sophisticated browser with a bunch of lotions turns into a clumsy bumpkin. What is most sad, even clearing the cache or deleting temporary files does not help. And if you take into account the initialization of plug-ins at startup, in general, it’s worth considering the feasibility of installing them.
Some applications have their own set, which cannot be deleted, but can be disabled. For example, Chrome comes with pre-built components like Adobe Flash Player or AdBlock. If everything is clear with the first plugin, the second sometimes causes legitimate complaints. He is responsible for blocking ads, pop-ups and banners, and may also prevent the operation of some automatically executed scripts and applets embedded in web pages. And all this takes a lot of time.
Opening pages with a preliminary analysis of the content is directly dependent on the content. Any modern browser spends a fraction of a second on this. Again, it all depends on the plugins - the more there are, the slower the program runs. And incorrectly installed or incompatible add-ons slow down the system even more.
Which browsers use less memory?
But let's start checking the means of access to the Internet themselves. Here you should take into account the indicator of consumption of operational, virtual and physical memory. If you understand the question of which browser least loads the system, you should pay attention to the basic default settings and the size of the allocated cache.
Cached data, although they can increase the speed of opening the most frequently visited pages by storing some elements on the hard drive, are nevertheless capable of clogging the system too much and causing the effects of programs to freeze. This is due to the constant analysis of loaded page structural elements. With a sufficiently large number of them for analysis and loading requires more time.
Judging by user and expert reviews, Internet Explorer 11, Edge from Windows 10, Mozilla, and Google Chrome show the best performance in this regard. Opera, although it is a very popular means of accessing the Internet, is much slower. In addition, today you can find so many versions of the program in unofficial sources that you do not always know whether this product is safe.
Top browsers: rating and reviews
If we consider modern browsers, we can make a list, in which, as expected, there are exclusively programs of the most famous developers:
- Internet Explorer
- Edge
- Opera
- Mozilla Firefox
- Chrome
One could add here some programs like Amigo, Yandex Browser, 360 Safety Browser or something else. But they are not specifically included in the list, since they are built on the basis of Chrome and are not of interest as truncated or extended derivatives of the main product. Often, due to unfinished technologies and algorithms, problems arise much more than in the parent product. This is clearly evidenced by unflattering statements by users.
Now, on the question of which browser least loads the system, let us dwell in more detail.
Internet explorer
For IE, which is part of any Windows operating system, users have developed a very negative attitude, since the early versions of the program were so incomplete that it was not even necessary to talk about any convenience on the Internet.
Over time, developers from Microsoft revised the basic concept of the browser, as a result of which the 11th version of the application appeared. Whoever says it, but Internet Explorer 11 in all respects re-spills both Mozilla and Chrome, and even more so Opera. The load is minimal, the start is much faster than similar applications, clearing the cache and temporary files does not require user intervention, as it was before (you had to clean the Temporary Files folders manually).
Edge
The same Internet Explorer became the progenitor of a new generation browser called Edge, which appeared only in Windows 10 (for systems of a lower rank version is not provided).
This application rightfully takes the top lines in all ratings. Most of the background processes when starting the program are automated, start is made within a couple of seconds, opening pages even without installing related plug-ins is very fast. By the way, you do not need to install add-ons - everything goes in the kit here.
Another thing is that this browser is somewhat inconvenient to configure, especially in terms of disabling extensions. And the default start page is a little annoying (news, weather, advertising, etc.). But all this can be turned off if you set a dummy at startup by the type of how it is done in IE.
Opera
The notorious "Opera", although it is revered by many, has recently lost ground. Despite the convenient and fairly simple interface, performance leaves much to be desired.
Even at startup, you may notice that the hard disk is accessed for too long, as well as when the cache is completely empty and temporary files are deleted. True, the pluses can be written the ability to quickly configure, disable or remove extensions. But this in no way can affect the overall assessment.
Mozilla firefox
Finding the answer to the question of which browser least loads the system cannot do without this browser.
Easy and fast - that’s what you can say about it. However, not all users fully evaluate it. The fact is that the Fiery Fox cannot be considered the most primitive means of accessing the Internet. This browser is more suitable for web developers and can be used as a complete platform for creating web applications. The toolkit here is much wider than all that is offered by other favorites of the list.
Chrome and browsers based on it
Chrome is considered the fastest of all existing browsers. Developments based on it differ in speed only after the first installation, and over time they begin to slow down incredibly.
And the speed of launch, and the speed of opening pages, and the simplicity of configuration or management - at the height. Plus - the largest number of plugins and extensions developed. The question is different. Is it worth it to install? Everyone decides for himself. Nevertheless, for all the main indicators in the lists of popularity, this browser is not inferior to Edge.
What to choose?
So, choose the lightest browser. Of course, preference (based on user feedback) could be given to Microsoft products, however, it is believed that installing Chrome will be the best option.
And here, not only technical specifications or performance parameters with a minimum load on the system speak in favor of the choice. If you look more broadly, you will notice that the latest version of the application supports RDP (Remote Desktop) technology and can be used as the main client for connecting to computers and laptops even from mobile devices.
Thus, the balance in the question of which browser least loads the system is the easiest to manage and configure, clearly tends to favor Chrome, although this rating is based solely on ratings, no more.