I use Chrome, but when I open 20-30 tabs at the same time, it starts lagging and even freezes for a couple of seconds. System memory seems fine. How do I deal with this - should I switch to a different browser or change something in the settings?
Chrome eats up RAM like nothing else - a single tab is roughly 50-100 megabytes, so with 20-30 tabs you're easily hitting gigabytes. Even if you physically have enough memory, the browser starts lagging because of fragmentation and the system switching to swap. Try first finding the memory efficiency section in Chrome settings - you can enable RAM usage limits there and auto-unload unused tabs. You should also disable heavy extensions or keep only the ones you actually need.
If that doesn't help, then yeah, it makes sense to try an alternative. Firefox uses a bit less memory, and Edge (based on Chromium) often runs more stable even with tons of tabs open. I know people who switched from Chrome for exactly that reason and didn't regret it. But honestly, if the problem is extensions - the result could be the same everywhere.
One more thing: check if your browser cache is filling up over time. Sometimes clearing the cache and cookies helps, plus disabling old extensions that aren't getting updated anymore - those are exactly what cause lag under heavy load.
You don't need to switch to a different browser because of this - the problem isn't Chrome itself, it's that you're trying to keep way too many tabs open at once. Any browser will lag under that kind of load; Firefox or Edge won't be much different. Switching browsers only makes sense if you need some specific feature, not because of freezing with 20-30 tabs.
Chrome has a couple of useful settings: disable the "Continue where you left off" option in settings (it forces all tabs to load on startup) and check what extensions you've got installed - some of them can eat up memory just as much as the browser itself. By the way, there are extensions like The Great Suspender that automatically "put to sleep" tabs you're not using - they don't close, but memory gets freed up. The thing actually works.
I used to have the same habit of keeping a bunch of tabs open, then I noticed I was actually only actively working with five or six max, and the rest were just dead weight. Started using bookmarks and reading lists - when something isn't urgent, I save it there instead of keeping the tab open. Helped both the browser run faster and cleared up my head a bit.
Try an extension like The Great Suspender or something similar - it automatically unloads unused tabs from memory without closing them. When you click on a tab like that, it reloads in a couple of seconds. Personally, with my habit of opening like 40 links "for later," that's how I save myself - the system runs lighter and the tabs are still there.
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