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 certain tasks — mainly video playback, animations, and 3D graphics. This usually makes those tasks faster and smoother, and it saves your main processor from working as hard.

You might want to turn it off if Chrome is crashing, if videos are playing with glitches or strange colors, or if your screen is flickering. Hardware acceleration can also cause problems on older computers or on machines with graphics drivers that haven't been updated in years. Some people disable it to reduce power use on laptops, though the difference is usually small.

The setting is in Chrome's advanced settings, and it takes about 30 seconds to change. You'll need to restart Chrome afterward for the change to take effect.

Key Takeaways

  • Hardware acceleration is turned on by default in Chrome and uses your graphics processor to speed up video and animations.
  • Disabling it can fix crashes, video glitches, or screen flickering, especially on older computers.
  • The setting is in Chrome's Settings menu under System, and you toggle it off with a single switch.
  • Chrome must be fully closed and restarted after you change the setting for it to take effect.

Steps to disable hardware acceleration in Chrome

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

On the left side of the Settings page, click System. You'll see a toggle switch labeled "Use hardware acceleration" — it will be turned on (blue) by default. Click the toggle to turn it off. The switch will turn gray, and you'll see a message asking you to relaunch Chrome.

Close Chrome completely — not just the window, but the entire application. On Windows, you can check the system tray (bottom right of your screen) to make sure Chrome isn't still running in the background. On Mac, use Command+Q to fully quit Chrome. Then open Chrome again.

When to try this fix first

If Chrome is crashing when you watch videos on YouTube, Netflix, or other streaming sites, disabling hardware acceleration is often the fastest fix. The same applies if videos are playing with wrong colors, black bars, or stuttering.

Screen flickering in Chrome — especially if it happens during scrolling or when you have many tabs open — can also point to a hardware acceleration problem. If you see visual glitches only in Chrome and not in other programs, this setting is worth testing before you try anything else.

On very old computers (more than 10 years old) or on machines with graphics drivers that haven't been updated, turning off hardware acceleration sometimes prevents Chrome from crashing on startup.

What to do if disabling it doesn't help

If you turn off hardware acceleration and the problem persists, turn it back on using the same steps. Some issues are unrelated to hardware acceleration, and leaving it off when it's not the cause can actually make Chrome slower.

If videos are still glitching, try updating your graphics drivers. On Windows, right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager, then expand Display adapters, right-click your graphics card, and select Update driver. On Mac, go to System Preferences > Software Update to check for driver updates.

If Chrome keeps crashing, try clearing your browsing cache and cookies. Go to Settings, click Privacy and Security on the left, select Clear browsing data, make sure All time is selected, check Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files, then click Clear data. After that, restart Chrome.

How to turn hardware acceleration back on

If you disabled hardware acceleration and want to re-enable it, follow the same steps: open Chrome Settings, go to System, and click the toggle next to "Use hardware acceleration" to turn it back on (it will turn blue). Close and restart Chrome.

Most people should leave hardware acceleration on, since it improves performance for video and animations on modern computers. Only keep it off if you've confirmed it's causing a specific problem that doesn't go away after you update your graphics drivers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will disabling hardware acceleration make Chrome slower?

It may make video playback and animations slightly slower on modern computers, but the difference is usually small. If you're disabling it to fix crashes or glitches, the trade-off is worth it. If you don't have a specific problem, leave it on.

Do I need to disable hardware acceleration on all my devices?

No. The setting is per device, not per Google account. If you have Chrome on a laptop and a desktop, you can disable it on one and leave it on the other. Each computer has its own graphics hardware and drivers, so the problem might only happen on one of them.

Can I disable hardware acceleration for just one website?

No, the setting applies to all of Chrome. If a specific website causes problems, you can try disabling hardware acceleration, but it will affect video and animations everywhere in Chrome. If only one site has issues, the problem might be with that site's code, not your hardware.

What if Chrome asks me to relaunch but I don't see the message?

Close Chrome completely and open it again. The setting takes effect only after a full restart. If you just close a tab or window, the change won't apply.