7 Chrome 145 Settings You Must Change for Better Speed

If you are reading this, your browser Just updated. Yesterday, February 10, 2026, Google officially pressed Chrome 145 to the stable channel. While the headlines are buzzing about the detailed return of JPEG-XL image support, And new CSS multi-column layouts For developers, the real magic to the average user lies deep in the settings menu.

Let’s be honest: Chrome is a beast. It is fast, capable and deeply integrated into our lives. But it is also notorious for eating RAM. Like a hungry teenager at a buffet. Outside the box, Chrome 145 Designed for compatibility, not necessarily peak performance But your specific machine.

Even if you assemble a high-end gaming rig or try to squeeze a few more hours out of an ageing laptop, these 7 settings will dramatically improve your browsing speed, reduce memory lag and improve your download rates.

Here are the 7 Chrome 145 settings. Now you have to change.

1. Activate “Maximum” Memory Saver Mode

Chrome’s Memory Saver: Not new, but in version 145, the algorithm has been significantly improved. Default, Chrome Often leaving it to “equilibrium” to try to predict when you need a tab One more time However, if you are a “tab hoarder” with 50+ tabs open, “balanced” is simply passive.

The “Maximum” setting The forces Chrome You don’t perceive aggressive freezing for a few minutes. This frees up gigabytes of RAM to the tab. You really use it for 4K video playback or heavy web apps. Feel faster immediately.

How to change it:

• Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
• Go to Settings > Performance.
• Under the “Memory Saver” toggle, you will recognise three options: moderate, balanced, and more and more
• Select Maximum.

Pro Tip: worry about losing your place. When you click on a frozen tab, it reloads immediately. If you have a music player Or email you never desire frozen, add it to” Always retain “These sites are active”. Just generate a list below this setting.

2. Activate the “JPEG-XL” flag (return child).

This is the big news for Chrome 145. After being removed years ago, JPEG-XL (JXL) support is back. Why do this matter too fast? JXL images are significantly smaller than JPEGs or PNGs of the same quality and decode very quickly.

Websites Already starting to serve these images to compatible browsers. However, it depends on your specific rollout phase; it may not be enabled by default yet. You need to ensure your browser is ready to serve the next generation of the web. Immediately

How to change it:

• Type chrome://flags I your address bar And hit Enter.
• I the search bar, in a way jxl.
• Examine for the flag labelled “worthy JXL image format”.
• Change the dropdown from “Default” to “Activate”.
• Click the big blue Relaunch button on the bottom.

3. Turn on “Parallel download”.

It’s frankly surprising that it isn’t the default setting for 2026. By default, Chrome downloads files in a single stream. If that stream hits a bottleneck, your download speed is thwarted.

Parallel downloading breaks down a file. I smaller chunks and downloads them. At the same period, how uncomplicated old-school download managers used to be. It can double or even triple your download speed for large files. Value game installers or high-res video assets.

How to change it:

• Go back to chrome://flags.
• Search for “Parallel Downloading”.
• Change the setting to “activate”.
• Relaunch Chrome.

4. Make it better.” Preload Pages”

Chrome is a feature. Where it tries to predict which link you will click next and preloads it in the background. I Chrome 145, “Extended”, thanks to the predictive model on the device AI adaptation. If you have a decent internet connection (unlimited data), you should replace it with “Standard” or “Expansion”. It does the navigation websites. Feel the urgency because the page is already there before you pick it up with your finger or the mouse button.

How to change it:

• Go to Settings > Performance.
• Scroll down the “Speed” section.
• Inspect for “Preload pages”.
• Select “Extended Preload”.

Note: If you are on the meter mobile hotspot, preserve it in “Standard” to store data.

5. Disable “Continue running Background Apps”.

Have you ever stopped? Chrome, just to perceive your task manager and investigate five” Google Chrome”. The processes are still eating your CPU? This is due to a configuration that allows extensions and apps to operate in the background. Even after you terminate the window.

Unless you are addicted to specific extensions This is when you demand to send notifications when the browser is closed (which is rare). 2026, As most community use system-level notifications, it’s just a waste of battery and processing power.

How to change it:

• Go to Settings > System.
• Search for “retain running background apps when Google Chrome is closed”.
• Toggle this switch OFF.

Now, when you’re off Chrome, it actually closes.

6. With force GPU rasterisation

Your computer is a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). It is very quick to handle visual data. Compared to your CPU. Creates Chrome web pages by “painting”. Them tile after tile With the power of GPU rasterisation, you communicate to Chrome to use your graphics cards to paint these tiles. This is especially effective if you have a dedicated graphics card (NVIDIA or AMD), but still integrated Intel/AMD chips in 2026 are efficient enough to obtain an advantage of it. Consequently smoother scrolling and faster rendering of complex pages.

How to change it:

• Go to chrome://flags.
• Search for “GPU rasterisation”.
• Change it to “capable”.
• (Optional) If you have a high-end GPU, Also search for “zero-copy rasteriser” and activate it for an extra boost.

7. The “Energy Saver” Desktop Tweak

If you continue with a laptop, energy saving is superior. But do you acknowledge that it gasps? visual effects and video frame rate? If you’re connected to power – or if you’re using a desktop PC – you’ll never have it diminish. Your performance.

Sometimes, after an update, Chrome has “while on battery” by default. 20%.” However, many users report it as activated by error or stuck in efficiency mode. Best speed target for desktop users It must change off. To completely laptop users, make sure it is set strictly to “Unplugged” only.

How to change it:

• Go to Settings > Performance.
• Under Power, search for “Energy Saver”.
• If you continue on a desktop, turn it off.
• If you continue with a laptop, make sure it is set to “Turn on only when my battery is 20% or less” (when disconnected), unless you absolutely want battery life over speed.

Summary Table: Immediate action list

Setting	Location	Action	Benefit
Memory Saver	Settings > Performance	Set to Maximum	Frees up RAM aggressively.
JPEG-XL	chrome://flags	Enable	Faster image loading.
Parallel Downloading	chrome://flags	Enable	Faster file downloads.
Preload Pages	Settings > Performance	Set to Extended	Instant page loads.
Background Apps	Settings > System	Turn OFF	Frees CPU when closed.
GPU Rasterization	chrome://flags	Enable	Smoother scrolling.
Energy Saver	Settings > Performance	Disable (Desktop)	Prevents throttling.

 

Final Thoughts

Chrome 145 is a fantastic update, but it tries to be everything to everyone. By taking 5 minutes To adjust these settings, inform the browser. Exactly what you prefer: speed.

Enjoy the snappy new feel of your browser!