Best PC browser?

GeekyDad

GeekyDad

Member
Mainly in terms of CPU and memory usage, but also security. What's the best for PC and why do you believe it's the best?

Been using Firefox for years. Think it might be time to change.
 
I'll always give Vivaldi a shout, it's from the original makers of Opera and is constantly updated with little quick features here and there, also syncs well between PC and Android devices.
 
Brave has all of the script/adblockers built in, it's been pretty nice for me. Lots of features I don't use too. Chromium based, so it's got all of the base features of that too. It's easy enough to whitelist particular sites like GAF too so you can let the ads through.
 
I like Chrome. Not only is it easy to use in terms of functionality but the built-in reverse image lookup is top tier. It's also getting that nvidia rtx feature soon for up-ressing video.
 
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It's worth mentioning that a lot of streaming websites won't allow you to stream to PC at 4k on any browser other than Edge, which is really annoying. They want you to use the Smart TV apps or download their official apps to get 4k. Even YouTube, which offers native 4k for their hosted videos, will not allow you to stream purchased films/shows through Google Play at 4k.
 
eddie4 said:
I used to use Chrome, but it started becoming a memory hog. I switched to Brave, and I have no complaints yet.
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That's my biggest concern: memory/slowdown for my PC overall.

But I was under the impression Chrome was pretty much the highest in performance, with the best benchmarks, etc.
 
In terms of resource usage, they are all shit now. All of them.

I use Vivaldi now, as it lets you choose which features you want, has some nice ones that other browsers don't (double decker tabs!), and they seem pretty open about caring for you privacy. Still a Chromium pig, but not much you can do about that these days.

It's also, as already mentioned, made by the same people who made old Opera (now that was a great, features packed, andefficient browser.)

I wouldn't touch new/current Opera with a barge pole.

If you want a wacky, artsy choice, try Sleipnir.
 
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Tams said:
In terms of resource usage, they are all shit now. All of them.

I use Vivaldi now, as it lets you choose which features you want, has some nice ones that other browsers don't (double decker tabs!), and they seem pretty open about caring for you privacy. Still a Chromium pig, but not much you can do about that these days.

It's also, as already mentioned, made by the same people who made old Opera (now that was a great, features packed, andefficient browser.)

I wouldn't touch new/current Opera with a barge pole.

If you want a wacky, artsy choice, try Sleipnir.
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Well, I just ran a quick lap with Chrome using uBlock Origin.

Wow, that runs like slop on my PC. Went to Youtube, played a quick clip, the shit tripped over itself mid stream. It was a 16-second clip.

Went back into Firefox, ran the same clip from my YT history, ran smooth as it normally does.

I wish I understood all this technical stuff, but I guess the proof is in the pudding.
 
Chrome is good for integration, but they're controlling and no longer even allow ad blockers to work as default.

So I switched to Firefox. The dictionary sucks and its mobile version is garbage, but at least my ad blocker is now on by default.

Edge is actually OK these days, it just tends to render some sites in weird ways Microsoft browsers always have.
 
doge firefox GIF
 
I use Microsoft Edge for the most part and it generally has low memory usage and good features.

Many browsers are now based on the same Chromium platform and it's not like before when page rendering could be wildly different, and memory leaks happened frequently. So I for one don't care that much anymore, they all feel kinda samey these days.
 
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Chrome. I've tried Edge and Brave, both for few months but I always run into problems.

Some websites just straight refused to work on Brave.

I went back to Chrome few weeks ago and I'm not looking back. I use it on PC and iOS.
 
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eddie4 said:
I used to use Chrome, but it started becoming a memory hog. I switched to Brave, and I have no complaints yet.
Click to expand...
Chrome became a lot better in this regard with the memory and power reduction modes they introduced in December, especially if you use a lot of tabs. But I think Brave is still a better option in most cases. Especially in regard to the security features.
 
Mostly Edge.
Feels almost identical to chrome for me but it's a tad smoother.

Used to like Firefox but then it suddenly started to struggle with youtube videos (slugglish performance, stuttery, 60fps looks bad) and I could never fix it
 
My issues with Brave are that they are pushing crypto a bit, and that they have a rewards programme, yet a browser and VPNs (that it's not clear if it's even their own service) are their only source of income.

It's one thing for Microsoft to offer rewards, as they are a massive company who can afford the loss, or for a browser to make a big enough profit to continue from advertising and integration deals like Vivaldi and Escosia. But for a browser company to offer rewards... leaves me uneasy.

Something just feels off about them to me.
 
Firefox or Vivaldi and sometimes edge for pc, mostly firefox as I love the themes settings.

I can't stand google chrome. It's a memory hog and it crashes a lot.

Vivaldi on galaxy phone is best I've found, most options and easier tab management.

Update, just checked Vivaldi and their themes look a lot better now. It's been a bit.
They have tons of options the others don't and are big into tinkering and customization.
Will be playing around and may make Vivaldi my main again, unless I remember what caused me to go back to firefox.
 
For a long time I used both Chrome and Firefox, Chrome for anything I wanted to stay logged into or any Google services, and Firefox for anything else. Now I don't even install Chrome anymore because it collects more info than any other browser.
 
I Was using Edge and I liked it, but at this new office the only viable browser is Chrome. It is the only one that you can put Ublock on. At home I use Edge.

On my Ipad now Neogaf has blocked my access using Brave.
 
I mostly use Firefox because a lot of the others are Chromium(Chrome, Opera, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi) and I want to support something not developed by Evil Google.(As opposed to, you know, Evil Apple or Evil Microsoft.) I probably should use SeaMonkey more.
 
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Firefox ESR is my main personal browser on desktop. I do use Edge now and then but it is becoming a bloated mess and it's based on Chromium so I don't really like it or want to support it. I refuse to use any other Chromium based browsers.

Safari on my iPhone/iPad.
 
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Ecosia. Plant trees while you browse. Uses Bing as its search engine so for difficult searches I search once as is then add a #g to change to s Google search.
 
GeekyDad said:
Mainly in terms of CPU and memory usage, but also security. What's the best for PC and why do you believe it's the best?

Been using Firefox for years. Think it might be time to change.
Click to expand...
Brave if you care about privacy, Edge if you want best performance. Edge is actually very good and uses signficantly less resources in some situations than Chrome.
 
DGrayson said:
Ecosia. Plant trees while you browse. Uses Bing as its search engine so for difficult searches I search once as is then add a #g to change to s Google search.
Click to expand...
Excuse Me What GIF by Bounce


So, it's an actual browser? I thought it was just a search engine like You.com.
 
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If you are a Firefox user, I recommend something like https://github.com/yokoffing/Betterfox as a source for some tweaks to improve things.

There's also LibreWolf as a variant of Firefox with added protections, but it requires some tweaking to be usable at times so it may be a bit much for a lot of people.

I'm not a fan of Chromium browsers, I don't like how they feel and I despise the font rendering. I'm very much used to Firefox and it hasn't let me down yet. I also have a Vivaldi installation for rare occasions, but I mainly just use it for Prime Video in HD and some permanent tabs that can be stacked nicely. It allows for a quick glance at various pages side by side.
 
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I was on Brave and then switched to Firefox.

Honestly, I've been changing every few years for nearly 3 decades now. It comes and go. I was Firefox way back until chrome. Nowadays, it seems you pick the lesser evil rather than just the performances.
 
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So I'm hearing Chrome is the worst for data privacy, while Brave is one of the best, but Brave is built with Chrome's tech. Is that right? That seems odd. Why do people trust Brave over Firefox and such? Have actual tests been done that confirm Brave security promises?
 
Brave. And Brave on my phone to watch YouTube and have 0 ads. Plus you can set Brave to play video in the background on your phone which is perfect for YouTube
 
Firefox for me. Been using it for 10 years and looking at the way chromium browsers are going, I don't plan on moving. Though I do like Safari as well
 
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