What hardware acceleration does and why you might disable it

Hardware acceleration is a feature that offloads certain tasks from your computer's main processor to your graphics card, which is often faster at handling those specific jobs. This usually makes videos play smoother, web pages load quicker, and games run better. But hardware acceleration can also cause problems: your screen might flicker, videos might stutter, certain websites might crash your browser, or your computer might overheat.

If you are experiencing display glitches, browser crashes, or unusual fan noise, disabling hardware acceleration is one of the first things to try. The steps differ depending on whether you want to turn it off in your web browser, in a specific application, or at the Windows or Mac system level.

Key Takeaways

  • Hardware acceleration speeds up graphics and video by using your graphics card instead of your main processor, but it can cause crashes or flickering on some computers.
  • Most web browsers have their own hardware acceleration setting in preferences, separate from your operating system setting.
  • If disabling it in your browser does not solve the problem, you may need to disable it at the Windows or Mac system level instead.
  • After you disable hardware acceleration, restart your browser or application completely — closing and reopening it is necessary for the change to take effect.

Disable hardware acceleration in Chrome

Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings from the menu. On the left side, click System. You will see a toggle labeled "Use hardware acceleration" — click it to turn it off. Chrome will ask you to relaunch the browser; click the Relaunch button that appears.

After Chrome restarts, the setting will be active. If you were experiencing crashes or display problems on specific websites, try visiting them again to see if the issue is resolved. Hardware acceleration will remain off until you return to this same menu and toggle it back on.

Disable hardware acceleration in Firefox

Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top right corner. Select Settings. Click General on the left side. Scroll down to the Performance section. You will see a checkbox labeled "Use recommended performance settings" — uncheck it. Below that, you will see another checkbox for "Use hardware acceleration" — uncheck that one too.

Close and reopen Firefox completely for the change to take effect. Do not just close the window; make sure Firefox is fully shut down before you open it again. If you have multiple Firefox windows open, close all of them.

Disable hardware acceleration in Edge

Open Microsoft Edge and click the three dots in the top right corner. Select Settings. Click System and performance on the left side. Look for the toggle labeled "Use hardware acceleration" and click it to turn it off. Edge will ask you to restart the browser — click the Restart button.

Edge will close and reopen automatically. Once it restarts, hardware acceleration will be disabled. If you use Edge for work or school and the setting keeps turning itself back on, your organization may have a policy that forces it on — contact your IT department in that case.

Disable hardware acceleration in Safari

Open Safari and click Safari in the top menu bar. Select Settings (or Preferences on older versions of macOS). Click the Advanced tab. At the bottom of the window, uncheck the box labeled "Use hardware acceleration." Close the settings window.

Quit Safari completely and reopen it. On Mac, you can quit Safari by pressing Command+Q or by clicking Safari in the menu bar and selecting Quit Safari. Simply closing the window is not enough — the application must fully shut down.

Disable hardware acceleration at the Windows system level

If disabling it in your browser did not fix the problem, the issue may be at the operating system level. Right-click on your desktop and look for an option like Graphics Settings, NVIDIA Control Panel, or AMD Radeon Settings — which one appears depends on your graphics card manufacturer.

If you see Graphics Settings, click it, then click Browse and select the application that is causing problems. Click Options and choose Power Saving mode. This disables hardware acceleration for that specific program. If you see a manufacturer-specific panel instead, look for a tab labeled 3D Settings or Performance and disable hardware acceleration there. The exact steps vary by manufacturer, so check the panel's help menu if you get stuck.

Disable hardware acceleration on Mac

On Mac, hardware acceleration is controlled through your graphics settings rather than a single system toggle. Open System Preferences (or System Settings on newer versions). Click Displays. If you see an option for "Automatic graphics switching," you can uncheck it to force your Mac to use integrated graphics instead of your dedicated graphics card — this effectively disables hardware acceleration.

If your Mac does not have this option, or if unchecking it does not solve the problem, the issue is likely in your browser settings rather than the system level. Return to the browser-specific steps above and make sure you have fully quit and restarted the application. On some Macs with Apple Silicon chips, hardware acceleration cannot be disabled at the system level, so browser-level changes are your only option.

What to do if disabling hardware acceleration does not help

If you have disabled hardware acceleration in your browser and the problem persists, try clearing your browser cache. In Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac) to open the cache-clearing menu. Select "All time" and check the boxes for "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files." Click the clear button.

If the problem only happens on one specific website, the issue may be with that website's code rather than your hardware. Try the same task in a different browser to see if it works there. If it does, the problem is browser-specific and you may need to contact that browser's support team. If the problem happens in every browser, it is likely a hardware or driver issue, and you may need to update your graphics card drivers or contact your computer manufacturer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will disabling hardware acceleration make my computer slower?

It may make video playback or graphics-heavy websites slightly slower, but most everyday tasks will feel the same. If you are experiencing crashes or freezing, disabling hardware acceleration will actually make your computer feel faster because it will stop crashing. You can always turn it back on if you notice a real difference in performance.

Does hardware acceleration use more battery on a laptop?

No — hardware acceleration usually saves battery because your graphics card is more efficient at certain tasks than your main processor. Disabling it may actually drain your battery faster on a laptop. If you are having problems on a laptop, try disabling it first to see if it solves the issue, but expect slightly shorter battery life.

Why does my setting keep turning back on after I disable it?

Browser updates sometimes reset your settings to the default. Check your settings again after updating your browser. If you are on a work or school computer, your organization may have a policy that forces hardware acceleration on — contact your IT department. If neither applies, try disabling it at the system level instead of just in the browser.

Can I disable hardware acceleration for just one website?

Most browsers do not offer per-website hardware acceleration controls. Your best option is to disable it globally in your browser settings, or to use a different browser for that specific website if you need hardware acceleration for other sites. Some browsers have extensions that can block specific sites from using certain features, but these are not built-in.

What if I do not see a hardware acceleration option in my browser settings?

Older versions of browsers may not have this setting, or it may be labeled differently. Try searching your browser's help documentation for "hardware acceleration" or "graphics acceleration." If your browser version is very old, consider updating it — newer versions have better performance and security anyway.