I’m having web browser issues. Is ~1 GB high for a browser to suck without any tabs running about ~16 extensions? What browser do you recommend (other than Firefox because I’ve had even worse RAM issues)? I want something that’s (obviously secure but I don’t as much as Firefox).
Firefox and Chrome are both evolving to run different parts of the software in different memory compartments using OS protections and other sandboxing. This inherently leads to them using more RAM when doing not so much, but provides much better safety against abuse by mal-scripts online. I wouldn’t focus so much on how much RAM they’re using unless it is growing out of control or causing you some problem. (You mentioned RAM usage but not what problem it might be causing you.)
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Are you using Chrome? Go to More Tools > Task Manager (or press Shift + Esc) to see what is using up the memory. Maybe one of your extensions is using a lot of memory.
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Firefox 70 just got a task manager too. about:performance Or from the hamburger menu, More ->Task Manager
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That’s good to see. Browsers are becoming platforms these days.
Just noticed this is in Windows 
Left here for info, not just a Windows thing…
Over a GB is normal for me in Chrome too. The extensions seem fine, it’s the Helper on my MPB. I’d worry about it more if I had less RAM.
Tweetdeck is the second worse offender. This seems to be a memory leak/poor design, resets to 100MB if you restart it.
Definitely going to be in the minority here with this one but I’ve been using the Opera gaming browser - Opera GX - since it’s been released and I love it because you can actually limit the amount of CPU and RAM it uses.
Don’t use so many extensions…
I’m not sure I agree… If you’re using the extensions, there is a cost to pay… but not using them has a different cost. The RAM is there in your PC to make it more useful for you the user, so use the computer how you want. RAM is cheap, upgrade it if your PC supports it.
I will explain the point, though: The extensions are running in a sandbox of their own, and aren’t supposed to be able to “see” each other’s code/data. To do this requires more memory, of course, because the isolation requires separate instances of JavaScipt engines and data.
Firefox has been running for over a week on my PC, currently a dozen open tabs and hundreds have been open and closed over the week or so. It is currently using 431MB.
What is the issue you’re having with your web browser? Or are you just concerned about the amount of memory being used? Without info about what your extensions are doing it’s tough to say, but a modern browser can easily exceed 1GB of memory.
I use and recommend the Vivaldi browser, it runs the Chromium engine and was developed by a team led by the Opera browser founder. Nearly all Google Chrome extensions are compatible.
But remember - a browser is only ever as secure as the user controlling it. You’ve got 16 extensions running - are they all really necessary and do you trust them? I don’t know your use case but it seems excessive.