5 ms·

I use Firefox on Mac, but I don't notice any performance hits. At least not compared to Chrome, or browsers on other operating systems. I don't use Safari so ma

by barbs 6y ago

I use Firefox on Mac, but I don't notice any performance hits. At least not compared to Chrome, or browsers on other operating systems. I don't use Safari so maybe I don't know what I'm missing out on. What performance issues specifically do you notice?

jedberg 6y ago
The two main things I notice: Some websites basically crash the computer on Firefox but run fine on Safari. Mostly JS heavy sites. The energy usage of Firefox is way higher than Safari, which in turns makes my fans spin a lot harder. Basically some sites will peg the CPU and hit max fan speed, but the same site just sips energy on Safari. Video streaming is a prime example of this. I can use twitch on Safari and it uses maybe 30% CPU. Twitch on Firefox uses 150% CPU.
- shock 6y ago
  > Some websites basically crash the computer What does "crash the computer" mean? Do you get the MacOS equivalent of a BSOD?
  - toyg 6y ago
    Disclaimer: Firefox is my daily driver. There are sites that just make FF spike its CPU usage, I guess through rogue JS, and if you let them run they’ll make macOS stutter (this on a beefy 2016 mbp). Sadly, some of these are big names like new Reddit and new Facebook.
    - asdff 6y ago
      Are you running any adblockers? I haven't experienced this personally on newer and older mac hardware than your rig.
      - toyg 6y ago
        Yes - uBlock Origin and Disconnect.
  - jedberg 6y ago
    Everything freezes, I can't use move the mouse. If I wait, sometimes I can hit Cmd-W and get the tab to close eventually, sometimes I literally have to do a hard power off.
    - asdff 6y ago
      I haven't experienced this on my 2020 macbook nor my 2012 macbook. Care to link an example of some heavy javascript?
      - jedberg 6y ago
        I don't keep track of which sites do it, and it's fairly infrequent, but if I happen across an example I'll let you know.
    - jlokier 6y ago
      That sounds like it could be that you're running out of memory. Open the Activity Monitor, switch to the Memory tab, and watch the Memory Pressure graph as well as Memory Used. If memory pressure isn't green, or memory used is close to Physical Memory, you're using too much. In that state, the whole MacOS GUI can become rather unresponsive, fitting your description.
    - shock 6y ago
      I agree with the sibling comment, what you are describing sounds like you are running out of RAM. This happens to me with Firefox on a PC with 64GB of RAM and the cursor gets janky and I have to wait until some poor process gets killed and the PC becomes interactive again and I can restart Firefox.
- jlokier 6y ago
  > Video streaming is a prime example of this. I can use twitch on Safari and it uses maybe 30% CPU. Twitch on Firefox uses 150% CPU. I concur - Firefox consistently uses higher CPU than Safari in my experience too. "Idle page" CPU when nothing is apparently happening but it's draining the battery anyway is higher with Firefox and annoying. With the exception of LinkedIn, oddly. Safari uses 105% CPU consistently when a LinkedIn tab is in the foreground.

by barbs 6y ago

jedberg 6y ago

The two main things I notice: Some websites basically crash the computer on Firefox but run fine on Safari. Mostly JS heavy sites. The energy usage of Firefox is way higher than Safari, which in turns makes my fans spin a lot harder. Basically some sites will peg the CPU and hit max fan speed, but the same site just sips energy on Safari. Video streaming is a prime example of this. I can use twitch on Safari and it uses maybe 30% CPU. Twitch on Firefox uses 150% CPU.

shock 6y ago
> Some websites basically crash the computer What does "crash the computer" mean? Do you get the MacOS equivalent of a BSOD?
- toyg 6y ago
  Disclaimer: Firefox is my daily driver. There are sites that just make FF spike its CPU usage, I guess through rogue JS, and if you let them run they’ll make macOS stutter (this on a beefy 2016 mbp). Sadly, some of these are big names like new Reddit and new Facebook.
  - asdff 6y ago
    Are you running any adblockers? I haven't experienced this personally on newer and older mac hardware than your rig.
    - toyg 6y ago
      Yes - uBlock Origin and Disconnect.
- jedberg 6y ago
  Everything freezes, I can't use move the mouse. If I wait, sometimes I can hit Cmd-W and get the tab to close eventually, sometimes I literally have to do a hard power off.
  - asdff 6y ago
    I haven't experienced this on my 2020 macbook nor my 2012 macbook. Care to link an example of some heavy javascript?
    - jedberg 6y ago
      I don't keep track of which sites do it, and it's fairly infrequent, but if I happen across an example I'll let you know.
  - jlokier 6y ago
    That sounds like it could be that you're running out of memory. Open the Activity Monitor, switch to the Memory tab, and watch the Memory Pressure graph as well as Memory Used. If memory pressure isn't green, or memory used is close to Physical Memory, you're using too much. In that state, the whole MacOS GUI can become rather unresponsive, fitting your description.
  - shock 6y ago
    I agree with the sibling comment, what you are describing sounds like you are running out of RAM. This happens to me with Firefox on a PC with 64GB of RAM and the cursor gets janky and I have to wait until some poor process gets killed and the PC becomes interactive again and I can restart Firefox.
jlokier 6y ago
> Video streaming is a prime example of this. I can use twitch on Safari and it uses maybe 30% CPU. Twitch on Firefox uses 150% CPU. I concur - Firefox consistently uses higher CPU than Safari in my experience too. "Idle page" CPU when nothing is apparently happening but it's draining the battery anyway is higher with Firefox and annoying. With the exception of LinkedIn, oddly. Safari uses 105% CPU consistently when a LinkedIn tab is in the foreground.