Dell XPS 15 Users - How do you use Firefox? Isn't it lagging and slow?

Hey.

I have XPS 15 and when using Firefox latest version, the browser is very slow and laggy.

I found out the problem was that Firefox is very slow when it is running on Intel graphics card.

When I ran Firefox with Nvidia, it appeared to be normal and not lag anymore.

I want to ask if its possible to run it smooth on Intel?

Google chrome and all other browsers are fine.

Let me know how you guys use Firefox on your Dell XPS 15.

Thanks

 

how slow ? you open how many tab page on firefox ? how about on firefox 9?

 

I use Firefox with my R2, set to nvidia. I used to use Chrome which I think is a bit snappier but it also makes my 2630qm and fans dance on an off due to all the processes it runs (diff processes for diff tabs).

I think I've read somewhere ppl saying that you shouldn't run browsers using the graphics card because it can cause stability problems. Dunno if I've just got my wires crossed tho. Think I'll give it a go and see what happens!

 

A reason why Firefox might lag, is because Hardware Acceleration, I recommend you to not use it when the Intel integrated card is the one being used.

 

yep, it's slow, and the reason I switched to Chrome

However, I then realized Chrome sucks, and I don't like IE/Safari so might have to try Opera or running Firefox with nVidia GPU?

Can you disable hardware acceleration in Fx then?

 

I tried Chrome for a couple of days and I didn't like how many of my university's online applications weren't compatible with it, so I'm back to firefox. What exactly do you mean by lagging? Mine will freeze sometimes when I initially run it and try to load a youtube video (I have to let it sit while it's "not responding" for a few seconds or so). Usually it runs just fine though. I've got smooth scrolling and hardware acceleration disabled.

 

Now Firefox 10 is crashing when using Nvidia.....

 

My chrome is starting to slow down. I have to clear the cache and stuff to make it snappy again but that is a pain to do all the time. I think firefox was slow for me cuz i had alot of add ons .

 

I go with chrome, and never have any problems. I never liked firefox. Although, my l502x tends to have that fan on/off problem that starts to get pretty annoying

 

I found Chrome REALLY exacerbated the fan on/off issue. With Firefox, it really is nowhere near as bad.

I now agree with OP, now that he's brought it to my attention...FF really is laggy, isn't it. I'm to check out Opera or one of the other top 10 most popular browsers that isn't Chrome or IE to see how they compare. As long as I can use Adblock and some cookie blocking software I'm not too fussy.

 

Never had problems with firefox being slow while using it even on very old computer - on an old laptop I have it takes nearly a minute to load but then runs smooth once started, this is a 600mhz laptop.

The problems I hate are the memory ones. I somtimes have a lot of tabs open with people using my laptop while here, it can easily get over 100 tabs. I have had memory usage of 1.8gb in this situation which is stupid to start with even including the silly amount of tabs open, but I have then closed all but one tab only to find firefox still using 1.5gb of memory and rising slowly!

 

Firefox is slow on this laptop when used with Intel card, and it performs OK when used with Nvidia but it crashes often, due to the updated graphics card I suppose.

On laptops with only one graphics card it works fast and smooth.

 

It seems there is a rollback because the problem is supposed to be fixed. If you use the stable drivers NO BETA, Fx won't crash.

 

The problem is Direct2D and the iGPU. Try this:

Firefox / Tools -> Options -> [Advanced > General > Browsing] -> Disable: Use hardware acceleration when available.

When you disable this, you also disable some font aliasing. However, you can reactivate DirectWrite (which is used for the aliasing) without reactivating Direct2D.

about:config -> gfx.font_rendering.directwrite.enabled: true

You can adjust your font aliasing with the GUI from "Anti-Aliasing Tuner."

Under about:support, you should have these lines for your graphics:

Adapter Description: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
Direct2D Enabled: false
DirectWrite Enabled: true (6.1.7601.17563)
GPU Accelerated Windows: 0/2

That should fix any problems you're having with Firefox.

 

I also found out that if you use the nvidia graphics card that comes default with the laptop, you are able to set Firefox to use Nvidia graphics card in the control panel, and it does not crash well.

 

yep, I was having issues also with firefox being slow, specially in heavy flash sites with videos and stuff.

I tried to put the plugin_container.exe to use nvidia gpu since I noticed that is the exe wich play videos and stuff, I also noticed nvidia gpu ussage increased from 0% when playing a youtube video with that config, however I still had some minor freezes

extaltare your solution seemed to work, gave rep points to you