Why is Firefox so Slow on Mint 15?

[Incentive I.C]

I really sorry to say that I am not agree with you people.
According to my personal view the Firefox is best browser for internet suffering.
I have used the all browser and I found it better than all the other browsers that's why I'll suggest to use firefox. I hope You'll enjoy to use this one.

Calm down, fanboy. Nobody here is saying that firefox itself is slow.
Incentive I.C simply has a problem with it on his installation. He wouldn't keep trying to get it working if he disliked it, would he?

Firefox is pretty slow for me too. Disabling ABP makes a noticeable difference, but even then it's painful.

Might want to give this a go [url]http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/338[/url] seems like it might be doing something
for FF. Someone recommends a brower called Dillo might be interesting.

As for Chrome I guess I could give it a try but man does it eat Ram!

[passerby]

Might want to give this a go [url]http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/338[/url] seems like it might be doing something
for FF.

Thanks, that did help a little. Page rendering is much faster now. Problems still persist with opening and closing firefox though.

As for Chrome I guess I could give it a try but man does it eat Ram!

This is partly because of the way Chrome separates different tabs, extensions, etc. into separate processes. It makes Chrome more stable at the cost of more RAM.
You can disable this functionality with a command line switch when starting Chrome and see if that makes a difference.
eg. If you wanted a single process per website, you'd append "--process-per-site" to the command.
If you wanted a single process for everything, you'd append "--single-process".
I haven't used either one for a while (since nowadays I have too much RAM for my own good), but the commands probably haven't changed.

[rokytnji]

Mint 14. Firefox just upgraded to version 23. Gmail now basic html and saying unsupported browser.
Midori OK. Me. I am toying with the idea deleting /.mozilla and rebooting and starting over.

Posting on my Netbook with

Code: Select all

$ inxi -F
System:    Host: biker Kernel: 3.7.10-antix.3-486-smp i686 (32 bit) 
           Desktop: IceWM 1.3.7 Distro: antiX-13_386-full Luddite 01 June 2013
Machine:   System: manda product: Intel powered classmate PC version: Gen 1.5L
           Mobo: N/A model: N/A Bios: American Megatrends version: CM94515A.86A.0024.2008.0715.1716 date: 07/15/2008
CPU:       Single core Intel Core CPU N270 (-HT-) cache: 512 KB flags: (nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3) 
           Clock Speeds: 1: 800.00 MHz 2: 1600.00 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Mobile 945GSE Express Integrated Graphics Controller 
           X.Org: 1.12.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1024x600@53.3hz 
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel 945GME x86/MMX/SSE2 GLX Version: 1.4 Mesa 8.0.5
Audio:     Card: Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel 
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: k3.7.10-antix.3-486-smp
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller driver: r8169 
           IF: eth0 state: down 
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 63.3GB (39.3% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: KingSpec_KSD size: 63.3GB 
Partition: ID: / size: 59G used: 24G (43%) fs: ext2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 61.0C mobo: N/A 
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A 
Info:      Processes: 99 Uptime: 56 min Memory: 248.0/2015.1MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 1.9.14 
harry@biker:~
$ apt-cache policy iceweasel
iceweasel:
  Installed: 22.0~b1-1~bpo70+1
  Candidate: 22.0~b1-1~bpo70+1
  Version table:
 *** 22.0~b1-1~bpo70+1 0
        500 http://www.daveserver.info/antiX/debs/ testing/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     17.0.8esr-1~deb7u1 0
        500 http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates/main i386 Packages
     10.0.12esr-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
harry@biker:~
$ apt-cache policy dillo
dillo:
  Installed: 3.0.2-2
  Candidate: 3.0.2-2
  Version table:
 *** 3.0.2-2 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
harry@biker:~
$ apt-cache policy links2
links2:
  Installed: 2.7-1
  Candidate: 2.7-1
  Version table:
 *** 2.7-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

My Mint install is on a Samsung RV510 dual core with 4 gig of ram. This netbook has half the capability but because of ssd drive maybe runs zippier. Like I said. I might delete the /.mozilla in /home and start over in Mint to see what happens.

[palo]

Mint 13 and I have to say the latest version of Firefox (23) is being a bit of a jerk for me also but I am noticing only on pages with certain Flash content. For example: scroll down (and up) [url=http://www.webupd8.org/2013/06/linux-deepin-1212-released-with-new.html]this page[/url] and it is smooth except in the area where there is an embedded Flash, and scrolling through that area is jerky. When I enable the Flashblock extension that area will scroll smoothly. If I scroll that page with Google Chrome it renders smoothly. I never noticed such a problem with Firefox before now and always roll with ABP so there may be some Flash stuff that doesn't ever load. It is not yet so bothersome that I feel inclined to install a previous version of Firefox but waiting to see what the next update brings. BTW I think this post is about jerky scrolling from the op's comments - if it is about a slow connection and page loading - apologies because it is still the champ there for me.

Pat

[Incentive I.C]

Mint 13 and I have to say the latest version of Firefox (23) is being a bit of a jerk for me also but I am noticing only on pages with certain Flash content. For example: scroll down (and up) [url=http://www.webupd8.org/2013/06/linux-deepin-1212-released-with-new.html]this page[/url] and it is smooth except in the area where there is an embedded Flash, and scrolling through that area is jerky. When I enable the Flashblock extension that area will scroll smoothly. If I scroll that page with Google Chrome it renders smoothly. I never noticed such a problem with Firefox before now and always roll with ABP so there may be some Flash stuff that doesn't ever load. It is not yet so bothersome that I feel inclined to install a previous version of Firefox but waiting to see what the next update brings. BTW I think this post is about jerky scrolling from the op's comments - if it is about a slow connection and page loading - apologies because it is still the champ there for me.

Pat

Thanks Pat. if its slow and jerky for you,too maybe it really is a packaging problem. We could try to pruge firefox and then compile it from source with the make comand. Might try that soon. I think the linux firefox vesion is suppose to be compiled anyway.

Be yeah I guess I could wait the next FF. Please note that I am only having the problem on Mint. Have a diffrent distro with FF on it and its smooth

[palo]

Mint 13 and I have to say the latest version of Firefox (23) is being a bit of a jerk for me also but I am noticing only on pages with certain Flash content. For example: scroll down (and up) [url=http://www.webupd8.org/2013/06/linux-deepin-1212-released-with-new.html]this page[/url] and it is smooth except in the area where there is an embedded Flash, and scrolling through that area is jerky. When I enable the Flashblock extension that area will scroll smoothly. If I scroll that page with Google Chrome it renders smoothly. I never noticed such a problem with Firefox before now and always roll with ABP so there may be some Flash stuff that doesn't ever load. It is not yet so bothersome that I feel inclined to install a previous version of Firefox but waiting to see what the next update brings. BTW I think this post is about jerky scrolling from the op's comments - if it is about a slow connection and page loading - apologies because it is still the champ there for me.

Pat

Thanks Pat. if its slow and jerky for you,too maybe it really is a packaging problem. We could try to pruge firefox and then compile it from source with the make comand. Might try that soon. I think the linux firefox vesion is suppose to be compiled anyway.

Be yeah I guess I could wait the next FF. Please note that I am only having the problem on Mint. Have a diffrent distro with FF on it and its smooth

Hi Incentive I.C> maybe I can clarify for fast readers: like you I have smooth scrolling enabled in FF. For me, scrolling is smooth as silk except for spots where it is jerky due to embedded Flash. As mentioned Chrome does not get jerky in that spot, but overall Chrome scrolling is not nearly as smooth as it is with FF. That is even with Smooth Scrolling enabled in "chrome://flags/".

I do not think that this problem you are experiencing would be related to the Minting of Firefox. You report having a better experience with a different distro - is it on the same computer? Is it the same version of Firefox? It sounds to me more like a video driver issue if it is jerky at all times for you. Or if not that, FF may have your GPU blacklisted and not using it. All things to investigate.

As for your suggestion that it is a Linux packaging problem I can tell you that on my better hardware that has Windows 7 and Firefox Version 23.0.1, I have the exact same issue with the link I pointed to in my post so I do not think going down the avenue of compiling etc. would be helpful.

I will be away for a week and wish you the best luck finding a solution.

Pat

[Incentive I.C]

Thanks agian pat might be a video card problem so currently looking into it
But yeah the distro I am talking about is Manjaro and yes its running on the same laptop same harddrive. Yeah it was the same version FF22 on both but I updated to FF23 on Mint alittle while ago. Thought it might be a good idea to post some stuff on my Graphic card though.
$ inxi -Gx
Graphics: Card: Intel Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
X.Org: 1.13.3 driver: intel Resolution: 1366x768@60.0hz
GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express Chipset GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 9.1.3 Direct Rendering: Yes

Currently testing another Acceleration tweak in About:config. Not doing much.

[passerby]

I wound up scrapping my firefox config ("mv .mozilla/ .mozilla.save/") and replacing ABP (ad block plus) with ABE (ad block edge).
Still not as fluid or fast as Chrome, but it's running much better now.

[Incentive I.C]

I wound up scrapping my firefox config ("mv .mozilla/ .mozilla.save/") and replacing ABP (ad block plus) with ABE (ad block edge).
Still not as fluid or fast as Chrome, but it's running much better now.

Okay so I am back on Manjaro and there actually is some lag in there but not as bad and seems to get better alot faster than Mint.

inxi -Gx
Graphics: Card: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
X.Org: 1.14.2 driver: intel Resolution: 1366x768@60.0hz
GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 9.1.5 Direct Rendering: Yes

Xorg and Mesa is more up to date than Mints. so that could be part of the problem. I will do a Pacman update to see if my graphics are updated again.

[gboos]

When I'm sliding in Firefox 23 my Xorg is skyrocking in CPU usage up to 80%. It is not FF by itself !!! But it doesn't matter it's in Mint, Xubuntu, Ubuntu, Debian etc. It is everywhere the same since FF 22 or 21 was released ... and nothing helped so far.

[wayne128]

I am really not sure about FF21/22 in Linux.

I run daily on Debian tracking Sid and default browser iceweasel, which is unbranded ff.

For a long time, Debian Sid stayed with ESR version of iceweasel.

Not long ago, suddenly my regular dist-upgrade brought iceweasel to version 23, skipping anything between 17 and 22.

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wayne@debian:~$ apt-cache policy iceweasel
iceweasel:
  Installed: 23.0.1-1
  Candidate: 23.0.1-1

No lag, no issue so far.
also I used to run about 22-30 tabs concurrently...

[phill1978]

This probably doesnt help.

With regards to smooth scrolling on firefox. This has been a problem for over a year now. I can replicate the issue as I run an AMD graphics card.

Tested on a 5850 and now more recently an A10-5800k APU.

With Catalyst 13.4 / 6 / 8 bascially any catalyst driver for over a year it stutters and messes up with smooth scrolling enabled (personally i run XFCE and prefer the quick and acurate non smooth scroll as its just fast as hell compared to effects based scrolling). If i switch to the open source driver .. smooth scrolling works !

tested every time for a year, on two separate AMD GPU's from two different generations.

Its a Video Driver Thing. AMD are poor on 2D desktop and I must add 2D games! so even 3D games with 2D effects get massive slow down as many 3D games use 2D objects for effects. They have got better but there is a big miss here with 2D on catalyst.

The opensource will give you smooth scrolling on AMD with firefox but then your 3D performance (mesa 9.2 and latest opensource) is still quite a way (50%) behind than catalyst.

So, disable smooth scrolling if you run AMD and catalyst.

[jvossler]

I have been having the same problem with FF 23 on LMDE. I'm guessing that it is something that Mozilla did which happens occasionally.

[YoelT]

I'm running LM15 KDE on an AMD card with the AMD driver. I was having issues with everything being sluggish, but it was particularly troublesome with FF. Doing nothing on the computer but browsing the interwebs, All 4 CPU core were between 20% and 50%, and frames per second were dropping to like 9FPS sometimes! I completely disabled KDE's KWin desktop effects and everything began running fantastic. I thought it was maybe a particular desktop effect, but just having the effect service enabled with no effects enabled still reduced performance to a noticeable extent. Next I will try the open graphics drivers.

[Artichoke]

BUMP!!!

I've just upgraded to Mint 17 Cinnamon, with all the accompanying updates, and both Firefox and Chromium are frustratingly slow. Both browsers take ages to start, they're slow to load pages, and scrolling is jerky. The machine is a dual-core AMD something-or-rather, with 4GB of RAM. If I need to provide more info I'll do so when I get home.

I'm using the same Firefox profile (same extensions, same everything) I use on my Windows 7 laptop, and it is fine and speedy on that. So what's happening? Since the bulk of my computer use is browsing, this is ruining my enjoyment of Linux.

Interestingly, I have Crunchbang installed on my wife's little Asus netbook, and it also suffers from the same browser speed issues. It is almost crippled, in fact.