How to Turn Hardware Acceleration On and Off in Chrome

Tue-Jan-2023
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Hardware acceleration is a feature in Chrome that allows your computer’s graphics processing unit (GPU) to handle certain tasks, such as rendering videos or animations. This can result in faster and smoother performance, but it can also cause issues such as crashes or screen flickering. In this article, we will show you how to turn hardware acceleration on and off in Chrome.

Turning Hardware Acceleration On in Chrome

To turn hardware acceleration on in Chrome, follow these steps:

  1. Open Chrome and click on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of the window.
  2. Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
  3. Scroll down and click on “Advanced” to expand the options.
  4. Under the “System” section, toggle the switch next to “Use hardware acceleration when available” to the on position (blue).
  5. Restart Chrome for the changes to take effect.

Turning Hardware Acceleration Off in Chrome

If you experience issues with hardware acceleration, such as screen flickering or crashes, you may want to turn it off. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Follow steps 1-3 above to access the “Advanced” settings.
  2. Under the “System” section, toggle the switch next to “Use hardware acceleration when available” to the off position (gray).
  3. Restart Chrome for the changes to take effect.

Checking if Hardware Acceleration is Enabled in Chrome

If you want to confirm whether hardware acceleration is enabled in Chrome, follow these steps:

  1. Type “chrome://gpu” into the address bar and press enter.
  2. Scroll down to the “Graphics Feature Status” section.
  3. Look for the “Hardware accelerated” label next to each feature. If it says “Hardware accelerated” then that feature is being accelerated by your GPU.
  4. If you see any features that say “Software only, hardware acceleration unavailable,” then it means that hardware acceleration is not currently enabled for that feature.

Hardware acceleration can be a useful feature in Chrome, but it can also cause issues on certain systems. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily turn hardware acceleration on and off in Chrome and check if it is enabled for specific features. If you experience any issues with hardware acceleration, try turning it off to see if that resolves the problem.