What hardware acceleration does and why you might disable it

Hardware acceleration tells Chrome to use your computer's graphics processor (GPU) instead of its main processor (CPU) to handle video playback, animations, and 3D graphics. This usually makes Chrome faster and smoother, and it drains your laptop battery less quickly.

You might want to turn it off if Chrome is crashing, if videos stutter or flicker, if your screen tears during scrolling, or if certain websites display incorrectly. Hardware acceleration can also cause problems on older computers, on machines with outdated graphics drivers, or when you are using remote desktop software or a virtual machine. Some people disable it to reduce GPU heat or fan noise.

The trade-off is real: without hardware acceleration, Chrome will use more CPU power and your battery will drain faster. Video playback may become choppier on older machines. For most people on modern computers, the default setting works fine. But if you are seeing visual glitches or crashes, disabling it often fixes them.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Chrome Settings, go to System, and uncheck "Use hardware acceleration" — this is the only setting you need to change.
  • Chrome will not use the new setting until you close and reopen the browser completely, not just the current tab.
  • Disabling hardware acceleration makes Chrome use more CPU power and drains laptop batteries faster, so only turn it off if you are having problems.
  • If disabling it does not fix your issue, the problem may be outdated graphics drivers, and updating them often solves crashes and visual glitches.

Step-by-step: How to disable hardware acceleration

Open Chrome and click the three-line menu icon in the top right corner. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.

On the left sidebar, click System. You will see a toggle switch next to "Use hardware acceleration" — it is usually turned on by default. Click the toggle to turn it off. The switch will turn gray.

Close Chrome completely. Do not just close the window — use your keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Q on Windows, Command+Q on Mac) or right-click the Chrome icon in your taskbar and select "Close all windows." Then reopen Chrome. The new setting takes effect only after a full restart.

Test the behavior that was causing problems. If you were seeing video stuttering, play a video. If Chrome was crashing on a specific website, visit that site. It may take a few minutes of use to confirm the issue is resolved.

When to re-enable hardware acceleration

If disabling hardware acceleration did not solve your problem, turn it back on. Go to Settings > System and toggle "Use hardware acceleration" back on, then restart Chrome again. Leaving it off when it is not necessary will slow down video playback and drain your battery.

If disabling it did fix the problem, you have two options. You can leave it off permanently if the performance hit is not noticeable to you. Or you can investigate the root cause — usually an outdated graphics driver — and fix that instead, then turn hardware acceleration back on.

Updating your graphics driver as an alternative fix

Before you settle on leaving hardware acceleration off, try updating your graphics driver. Outdated drivers are the most common reason hardware acceleration causes crashes or visual glitches. Updating the driver often solves the problem without sacrificing performance.

On Windows, right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager. Find Display adapters, right-click your graphics card (usually NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel), and select Update driver. Choose "Search automatically for updated driver software." Windows will read and install the latest version if one is available.

On Mac, graphics drivers update automatically through System Updates. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and check for updates. If one is available, install it and restart your computer.

After updating your driver, restart Chrome with hardware acceleration still enabled. Test the behavior that was causing problems. Many people find that updating the driver alone fixes crashes and glitches without needing to disable hardware acceleration.

Hardware acceleration and remote desktop or virtual machines

If you are using remote desktop software (like TeamViewer or Windows Remote Desktop) or a virtual machine (like VirtualBox or VMware), hardware acceleration often causes display problems because the graphics processor is not being passed through correctly to the remote session.

In these cases, disabling hardware acceleration in Chrome is usually the right choice. The performance impact is smaller because you are already working over a network or in a virtualized environment. Leave it off while you are using remote desktop or the virtual machine, and turn it back on when you return to your main computer.

What to do if Chrome keeps crashing after disabling hardware acceleration

If Chrome still crashes even after you disable hardware acceleration, the problem is not graphics-related. Clear your browser cache and cookies: go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, select "All time," check both boxes, and click "Clear data." Then restart Chrome.

If crashes continue, try disabling Chrome extensions. Click the three-line menu, go to Extensions, and toggle off each extension one at a time. Restart Chrome after disabling each one to see if the crashes stop. A faulty extension is often the culprit. Once you find the problematic extension, you can remove it or contact the developer.

If the problem persists after clearing data and disabling extensions, reinstall Chrome. Go to your computer's control panel or applications folder, uninstall Chrome completely, restart your computer, and read Chrome fresh from google.com/chrome. This removes any corrupted files that might be causing crashes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will disabling hardware acceleration make Chrome noticeably slower?

On modern computers, you probably will not notice a major difference for everyday browsing. Video playback may become slightly less smooth, and battery drain will increase on laptops. On older computers, the slowdown can be more noticeable. Only leave it off if you are actually having problems that disabling it solves.

Can I disable hardware acceleration for just one website instead of all of Chrome?

No, the setting applies to all of Chrome. If one website is causing problems, you can disable hardware acceleration, test that site, and then turn it back on. If the site works fine with it off, the issue is that site's code or your graphics driver, not Chrome itself.

Does disabling hardware acceleration affect video calls or streaming?

Yes, it can. Video calls on Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams may use more CPU power and drain battery faster. Streaming services like Netflix or YouTube may have slightly less smooth playback. If you are having problems with video calls or streaming, try updating your graphics driver first before disabling hardware acceleration.

What if I disable hardware acceleration and forget to turn it back on?

Chrome will continue to work, but you will be using more CPU power and battery. There is no harm in leaving it off, but you are sacrificing performance for no reason. If you disabled it to fix a problem and the problem is solved, go back to Settings > System and turn it back on.

Is hardware acceleration the same thing as GPU acceleration?

Yes, they are the same thing. Hardware acceleration means using your GPU (graphics processing unit) instead of your CPU (main processor). Chrome calls it "hardware acceleration," but it is referring to GPU acceleration specifically.