How to Make Firefox Faster on Mac

There are ways to make Firefox faster on a Mac.

Make Firefox faster on a Mac computer by editing the advanced settings. Although the changes proposed by experts are not necessarily complicated, proceed with caution since improperly editing a value could jeopardize the stability, security and functionality of your Web browser. Aside from advanced editing, to get the best performance on your Web browser you should download the latest version of Firefox, which provides fixed security issues, enhancements and new features.

Instructions

Edit Pipelining Options

1. Launch Firefox, type "about:config" in the address bar and press "Enter" to confirm. An alert page displays "This might void your warranty!" message. Click on the "I'll be careful, I promise!" button.

2. Type "network.http.pipelining" in the "Filter" text field and press "Enter." Double-click on its current value under the "Value" column. If it currently displays "false," change it to "true."

3. Type "network.http.proxy.pipelining" in the "Filter" text field and press "Enter." Double-click on its current value under the "Value" column. If it currently displays "false," change it to "true."

4. Type "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" in the "Filter" text field and press "Enter" again. Double-click on "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests." Enter "30" in the provided text field when the dialog box displays. Click "OK" to confirm.

5. Right-click on an empty space in the current window, choose "New" from the pop-up menu and select "Integer" from the drop-down menu options. A "New string value" dialog box opens up. Type "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" in the provided text field. Set the value to "0" and press "OK" to confirm.

   Note: Certain servers do not support pipelinng, and could reduce performance in this case. If you encounter problems you can always return the edited values back to its original status of "false." See the References section of this article for more information.

Edit Rendering Speed

1. Access the Firefox "about:config" window again. Right-click on an empty space in the window, click on "New" from the pop-up menu and select "Integer" from the drop-down menu.

2. Type "content.notify.interval" for the integer name and set its value to "500000" (five zeros). Click "OK" to confirm.

3. Right-click on an empty space of the window again. Click on "New" and then choose "Boolean" from the drop-down menu. Type "content.notify.ontimer" for the boolean name and set its value to "true." Click "OK" to confirm.

Edit Loading Speed Settings

1. Access the Firefox "about:config" window.

2. Right-click on an empty space within the window, select "New" from the pop-up menu and choose "Integer" from the drop-down menu options.

3. Type "content.switch.threshold" for the integer name and click "OK." Set its value to "250000" and click "OK" to confirm.

References

• Forever Geek: Make Firefox Faster
• Tech Radar: 8 Hacks to Make Firefox Ridiculously Fast
• Webopedia: Types of Internet Connections
• Mozilla: Upgrade Your Firefox

Resources

• Mozilla: Need Help with Firefox?