One of the common formulas when promoting a PC with modest hardware is that it is sufficient “for office automation and browsing”, as if the current Internet were that of the 1910s or that of the 2000s. Surf the web and making use of the multiple services it offers usually ends up being an intensive exercise for the computer, especially as time passes and the open tabs with websites and their respective processes accumulate loaded into RAM . Internet browsers are programs that tend to consume a lot of resources on the PC on which they operate, but Microsoft is taking with edge an unprecedented approach to improve this situation and that does not affect the performance of a team.
Until now, the usual approach was to empty inactive tabs to free up ram. It is what browsers traditionally do on mobile phones and a feature that was introduced in 2022 Chromethe browser with the worst reputation in this regard, in its desktop version. Google assures that this is how it consumes 40% less RAMbut with the disadvantage of having to download the web page again when the tab is activated again. MicrosoftInstead, he is proving that it is the user who decides how much RAM the Edge browser can use according to the characteristics of your equipment.
This new function is called Resource controls and has appeared in the development version of Canary Channel, although not for all its users, according to TechSpot. The Edge of the Canary Channel is, among the three versions in development of the browser that Microsoft makes available to users, the one that is greener and more unstable, but the first to which the news arrives. The versions of Dev Channel and Beta They are closer to the final product.
A new section on the Settings page could let you control how much RAM Edge can use, you can also choose whether this control is activated only when you are playing a game or always:https://t.co/YiCu5igL0Upic.twitter.com/pE29PI6FfR
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The new function, of which it is unknown when it will reach the final version, is located following the path Menu (3 dots icon) > Settings > System and performance > Manage your performance > Resource controls. In this last section the option appears Control how much RAM Edge can use and a slider whose maximum value is the amount of RAM that the system has installed. Here the user can adjust it and decide how much Edge will be used, being able to dedicate it all if they prefer. Another option available in Resource Controls is Whether to activate the RAM limit setting only when playing or permanently.
It is, of course, a very interesting option for anyone who has used a browser on a computer that only has enough RAM, such as 8 GB today and not 16 GB in the near future. Microsoft's browser, although minority in its market share compared to Chrome, continues to climb positions among users with this and other features such as integration with Microsoft AI. Statcounter has placed it this last March, for desktop computers, at 12.71% and keeps Edge in second position behind Chrome, which has 65.77%. After Edge, Safari has 8.63%, Mozilla Firefox 6.61% and Opera 3.5%.