Firefox users: Want quicker internet?

**Adam** · 06-18-2007 11:20 PM

Helped someone out in chat with this so thought I would post it for anyone who wants it.

To achieve faster internet loading try the following, and anyone who does please let me know if you noticed a difference.

1. Type about:config into the address bar and hit return.

2. Alter the entries as follows (by double clicking each entry):

Set network.http.max-connections to 48

Set network.http.max-connections-per-server to 24

Set network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy to 12

Set network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server to 6

Set network.http.pipelining to true

Set network.http.proxy.pipelining to true

Set network.http.pipelining.maxrequests to 8. Any more and you may get banned from the site visited, as it may be viewed as DOS attack. Try a higher value say upto 32 but be prepared to lower the value if sites fail to load.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer.

Name it nglayout.initialpaint.delay and set its value to 0.
This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

Hopefully you should notice some difference

**Tomdub** · 06-18-2007 11:22 PM

I am the guy that i worked so great on in chat. it significantly speeds things up. Its pretty cool, i suggest trying it.

**Ynot** · 06-19-2007 01:27 AM

hidden settings are hidden for a reason
there are pro's & cons to altering the values
the default settings (usually) are ideal for the average user

I'd advise you read up on exactly what the settings do before fiddling
as it can impact on your system, and the sites you connect to
http://www.tweakguides.com/Firefox_9.html

That said, the tweaks above certainly improve speeds if you have a broadband connection

**ninja9578** · 06-19-2007 03:06 AM

An easier way: Go to apple.com and download Safari

I wonder though, when Steve Jobs showed the speed test I'm sure that they used an unmodified Firefox, someone care to compare them with the Firefox speed ups?

**Replicon** · 06-19-2007 04:34 AM

Yeah, if you go too far with those numbers, some sites might decide you're trying to DOS them.

**Adam** · 06-19-2007 07:46 AM

Thats why the numbers are not too far, so sites dont think they are DOS attacks

**arby** · 06-19-2007 12:26 PM

i dunno... 48s on the higher side...

i just stick with 16 XD

**Adam** · 06-19-2007 01:51 PM

I use Opera so..... lol

**thedogsmeow** · 12-10-2007 01:09 AM

Thanks this seems to be working! Can you go back and change the values again if need be? I recorded the original numbers, just in case.

**Grod** · 12-10-2007 01:53 AM

You are Adam?

Do you know how to set it back to defaults after you mess with the source of a page?

I did with a page for fun and now I want it back....

**Daeva** · 12-10-2007 02:04 AM

I altered the settings to test it out, but I want to be able to switch it back if it doesn't work out. Hopefully it will, just in case though I'll have email notification to find this thread again

**Ynot** · 12-10-2007 02:26 AM

I posted the link already,
but seeing as this threads been resurrected...

network.http.max-connections [Integer] (48) - This setting determines how many simultaneous HTTP connections can be made by Firefox. The default is already 24, however for most people on moderate to fast Internet connections you can try raising this to a value like 48 or even 96 to allow for more open connections, thereby speeding up browsing multiple pages. The maximum is 65535, but remember that by raising this setting you are only raising the maximum possible number of connections. You aren't forcing Firefox to increase the actual number of connections it makes every time; if your system actually attempted to force 300 connections to open at once for example it would likely slow down to a crawl.

network.http.max-connections-per-server [Integer] (16) - This setting determines how many simultaneous connections can be made to a single server. The default is 8, however you can increase the value for broadband connections to something like 16 or 32 to attempt to increase browsing speed. The maximum is 255, however note that raising this setting to a high value (in conjunction with a high value for the network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-.* settings below) may be construed as a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack by some servers and your connection may be refused or even permanently banned. I strongly suggest that you keep this value sane. Simply increasing the number of connections to a server doesn't necessarily make things any faster, and indeed if every Firefox user does this then overall most sites will become slower.

network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy [Integer] (8) - If you are connected to a proxy, this setting determines how many connections to keep alive at any time. The default is 4, however you can attempt a higher value such as 8 to improve browser speed. As mentioned in the settings above, raising this to a very high value will put additional stress on the proxy server and may ultimately result in slower browsing for everyone on the proxy and/or a refused connection.

network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server [Integer] (8) - If you are not connected to a proxy, this setting determines how many connections to a single server to keep alive at any time. The default is 2, however you can attempt a higher value such as 8 to improve browsing efficiency. The maximum possible is 255, and as mentioned in the settings above, raising this to a very high value will put stress on the particular websites you are connected to and will either result in a refused connection, or slower response times from the web page for every person trying to connect to it. Do not raise this value to one which is very high as it is inconsiderate and counter-productive if everyone does so.

network.http.pipelining [Boolean] (True) - If set to True, this setting uses the HTTP Pipelining feature supported by some servers and proxies. This can improve browsing speeds, however because the feature is not supported by all servers you may experience problems on some sites with it enabled. I recommend setting this to True and only disabling it if you experience problems such as refused connections or unusual behavior.

network.http.pipelining.maxrequests [Integer] (8) - This setting determines the maximum number of requests to send when using the HTTP Pipelining feature (see above). The default is 4, and the maximum possible is 8 (higher values are ignored), while a value of 1 disables pipelining. I recommend setting this to 8 and only reducing it back to 4 if you experience any problems with the Pipelining feature.

**Replicon** · 12-10-2007 08:23 AM

By the way, I'm not sure if this is in any way related, but I don't think it deserves a separate thread:

What is up with the latest FF? It seems to saturate or something. If I view content-heavy pages (like some facebook profile with lots of pics, or even just browsing google maps for a while, which loads lots of pictures), my FF eventually stops responding to everything and I need to close it entirely and reopen it. It acts like the internet connection is not responsive, but it's just FF. I remember this bug USED to be there several versions ago, but then they finally seem to have fixed it. But now, 2.0.0.11 has the problem again. Ack!

**Adam** · 12-10-2007 10:36 AM

I cant say I have noticed this probelm.

And as for resetting these settings, I don't know how to other than reinstalling or taking down the original values. However, I can't see why you would want to change them back.

**Grod** · 12-10-2007 08:57 PM

No, I'm not talking about speeding it up, I'm saying if you altered the source code of a page. I did it for fun, and now the whole page is messed up... Do you know how to restore defaults?

**Identity X** · 12-11-2007 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by Grod

No, I'm not talking about speeding it up, I'm saying if you altered the source code of a page. I did it for fun, and now the whole page is messed up... Do you know how to restore defaults?

Well, when I've done that merely revisiting/refreshing the page undid it. Here's a suggestion - load it in Firefox, View Source, copy it all, and then replace Opera's source with Firefox's.

**Grod** · 12-13-2007 06:28 AM

Originally Posted by Identity X

Well, when I've done that merely revisiting/refreshing the page undid it. Here's a suggestion - load it in Firefox, View Source, copy it all, and then replace Opera's source with Firefox's.

I never tried refreshing it, bit stupid really but I was just trying Opera out and didn't mess with it for too long.

Thanks.

**b12** · 12-17-2007 10:26 AM

Yeah, you know...

You can just use Opera. It's pretty much a smaller firefox that uses less resources.

**Adam** · 12-21-2007 02:47 PM

Just not as quick...

**Ynot** · 12-21-2007 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Adam

Just not as quick...

and 32bit only

**Identity X** · 12-21-2007 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by Adam

Just not as quick...

Originally Posted by http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/browserSpeed.html

So overall, Opera seems to be the fastest browser for Windows. Firefox is not faster than Internet Explorer, except for scripting, but for standards support, security and features, it is a better choice. However, it is still not as fast as Opera, and Opera also offers a high level of standards support, security and features.

Eat that!

**Oneironaut Zero** · 12-21-2007 07:31 PM

. . .

**Adam** · 12-22-2007 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by Identity X

Eat that!

On my PC Firefox - when changing a few settings is clearly a LOT faster then Opera

**whyhelloheart** · 12-22-2007 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by Replicon

What is up with the latest FF? It seems to saturate or something. If I view content-heavy pages (like some facebook profile with lots of pics, or even just browsing google maps for a while, which loads lots of pictures), my FF eventually stops responding to everything and I need to close it entirely and reopen it. It acts like the internet connection is not responsive, but it's just FF. I remember this bug USED to be there several versions ago, but then they finally seem to have fixed it. But now, 2.0.0.11 has the problem again. Ack!

I get that ALL the time! I'd say about once or twice a day. Such a pain in the bum! =[
I then end up having to exit FF completely and everything is normal again.
So, no! You're not the only one!

**Replicon** · 12-22-2007 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by whyhelloheart

I get that ALL the time! I'd say about once or twice a day. Such a pain in the bum! =[
I then end up having to exit FF completely and everything is normal again.
So, no! You're not the only one!

What extensions are you running? It might have to do with that. Right now, I've only got Greasemonkey, Tab Mix Plus and IE Tab installed.

EDIT: er wait, also have ad-block, flashblock, long titles, video downloader (disabled) and Vimperator (also disabled)...

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