Guide | Vivaldi on 🐌 Old / Low End Computers

[Zalex108]

Other Guides

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Hi,

Some Guides and steps for old / low spec Desktop Devices:

Guides

• Vivaldi Official
• GHacks

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Switches

1. Locate a Shortcut of your installation
2. Create a copy and rename it to V Optimized, for example
3. Right click and Properties on it
4. At the very end of Target / Command [*Nix after the %u] add the choosen CMD Line Switches:
   • [A Space] --enable-low-end-device-mode + --single-process | --process-per-site (Recommended) | --process-per-tab - Test which of those 3 is better on each System
5. Check how it works

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It will look like:

Target: "Path to Vivaldi and Profile" --enable-low-end-device-mode --process-per-site

️ Known downside:

On Youtube, - maybe on some other sites - the overlay for video controls looks as "wave lines" instead of a transparent layer.

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Hibernation

Since Vivaldi 6.0 +/- there's a Chromium Setting to easily set up the Browser's Hibernation / Memory options. | Thanks to @Hadden89 for the recall

• Go to
  chrome://settings/performance
• Enable Memory Saver
• Exclude specific needed WebSites

Despite the Default Hibernation, some Extensions allows to keep the Tabs Sleeping even when gains focus.

• TabSuspender - Preferred
• New TabDiscard - On 2021 it wakes the Tabs on focus

Tab Unloader is removed from Chrome Store and from CRX4Chrome the CRX is not working.

Here it's a link to a working CRX and to an unpacked folder to allow the installation.
It works fine as of 01.11.2021.

Tab Suspender (memory saver) 2.4.0 - http://u.pc.cd/JujrtalK

Tab Suspender Results
https://forum.vivaldi.net/post/651150

Enable Developer Mode at Extensions Page (Ctrl+Shift+E).

• Drag'n'Drop the CRX file
  or
• Load an Unpacked Extension and point to the folder, previously located on your VProfile Extensions folder or somewhere safe. It will be pulled every time from there.

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Power

Since Vivaldi 6.0 +/- there's a Chromium Setting to set up few Browser's Battery options. | Thanks to @Hadden89 for the recall

• Go to
  chrome://settings/performance
• Enable Energy Saver

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Tips

• Clean the Cache periodically
• Keep the History only visible for the "Last 3 Months" despite you save it "Forever"
  * With enough RAM or optimised system chrome://flags/#turn-off-streaming-media-caching-always

The spoiler steps are deprecated

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All this has been Deprecated since Chromium 94 / V4.3, even from Unexpire Flags workaround.

On newest Chromium versions, the above Flag is under Temporarily unexpire M9X flags.
chrome://flags/#temporary-unexpire-flags-m90

Enable them, restart and Turn Off Catching will be available again.

Also the Lazy Load Flags may help.
Deprecated since M93
chrome://flags/#enable-lazy-image-loading

*Select the Automatic Lazy load

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"Off Topic Tip"
Follow the Signature's Backup | Reset link.
Take the opportunity to start a Backup plan and even create a Template Profile.

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Windows 7 (x64)
Vivaldi Backup | Reset + Extra Steps

[Catweazle]

Additionally, it is also convenient in Windows to deactivate the indexing and hibernation services, this significantly increases the resources and RAM of the system, they are also not very important services.
In case everything fails, Windows since Vista includes a function called ReadyBoost, which allows you to use a pendrive as an auxiliary RAM.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoost
PS. Ready Boost only make sens in PC with very low RAM, it make no difference in more than 3-4 Gb.

[Zalex108]

@Catweazle

I've used ReadyBoost but you need a fast Pen to notice it.

[Zalex108]

As some more aditions:

On W7 / W10:

• Index the Common Places with mostly no changes
  • Disable Index but keep the DB to search from Start
• Use IndexYourFiles or EveryThing
• Use a HostsFile
• Try to learn about how to browse and leave the AV away - except if external / unknown devices are plugged - Try ClamWin or Linux
• Keep Run slim
• Disable unnecessary Services - ️ Get the needed info before, annotate original state -
• Clean the System regularly - Defrag, cCleaner, %AppData%, Drivers...
• Clean the Computer regularly - Fan, repaste CPU, Keyboard...
• Keep Fan entries free - Elevate Laptops
• BackUp regularly - Apps and System

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If everything fails...

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:smiling_face_with_open_mouth_cold_sweat:

[Catweazle]

@Zalex108 , yes, you need a fast pendrive, but even with this, it only make sens in old PC with very low resources, but a fast pendrive is a less problem as to buy a new PC, and cheaper.
And if this fails too, try a small Linux distro before this

[Zalex108]

27.09.2021 Guide update:

• Lazy Load deprecated since Chr93

[FrankMCG]

I borrow an old notebook from my grandma. A stupid situation for sure, but your manuals are perfect, it works!
Thanks in advance

[Zalex108]

@frankmcg

Hi,

Good!

Despite some Tricks has been deprecated, some still allow to browse acceptably on old computers.

Check again for new update.

[Zalex108]

01.11.2021 Guide update:

• Lazy Load / Turn Off Media Cache has been deprecated since Chr94 / V4.3
• Added CRX to Tab Suspender (memory saver) 2.4.0

[edwardp]

On Linux, it also helps to use a desktop environment for an older system, that is light on resources, such as LXDE or LXQt.

[edwardp]

And not only should one use a desktop environment light on resources, also check the motherboard battery, if you use an older system.

My 13-year old desktop powered on this morning, but, the manufacturer screen where it indicates to press F10 to enter the BIOS, would not appear. The last time this occurred (a couple of years ago), I removed the battery to reset the CMOS and reinserted it. Then, everything was fine until this morning. Repeated the battery remove/reinsert, but this time it had no effect. This was with the original battery.

Purchased a two-pack of the batteries (this motherboard takes the CR2032) and installed a new battery. Screen to enter BIOS then came up. Fixed the date and time and made the necessary other changes in the BIOS. Rebooted and it's working again.

[edwardp]

@Zalex108 said in Guide | Vivaldi on Old / Low end Computers:

--enable-low-end-device-mode --single-process --process-per-site  --process-per-tab

I created a new desktop launcher in Linux on the newer of the two desktops (12 years old) and with these same flags, Vivaldi would not even launch. These flags might not apply to Linux.

I am otherwise trying Vivaldi now with Hardware Acceleration turned off, just to see if it makes any difference, speed-wise. As for YouTube, videos remain fine. I'm not noticing any degradation in the quality. The GPU is integrated.

VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RS780L [Radeon 3000] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])

[Zalex108]

@edwardp

Cannot assure right now, but IIR I've used them in Mint 17/19 months ago.

What distro are you using?

[edwardp]

@Zalex108

[Zalex108]

@edwardp

Oh!

Then IDK,
Maybe something changed in recent version, Distros or I'm mistaken.

In next weeks I would try again in Mint and see.

Haw did You notice they aren't working?

[edwardp]

@Zalex108 The UI didn't appear. I ran ps -e to see if there was a running job for Vivaldi, nothing. No hard drive activity either.

EDIT: I'm trying both Stable and Snapshot with hardware acceleration turned off, to see if it makes any difference, or perhaps speeds something up. Found one text-related issue with Stable that does not occur with Snapshot.

[Zalex108]

@edwardp

Try with

--enable-low-end-device-mode --process-per-site

[edwardp]

@Zalex108 Leaving the %U in place, it launched with those two switches.

I created separate desktop launchers. No issues so far with videos, but in checking to see if the text display issue I had with the Ars Technica comments still occurs (it does not), I noticed the quality of the images and the background on their site, is now degraded, whether or not Hardware Acceleration is enabled.

There is a flag #ignore-gpu-blocklist that overrides the software rendering list and enables GPU-acceleration on unsupported system configurations. I'm going to remove the two switches, enable this flag and relaunch it to see if there's a difference.

[Hadden89]

@Zalex108 You could hide the deprecated parts (which I presume to be broken) under a spoiler, so the guide is

cleaner to read

[Zalex108]

@Hadden89

It seens the %u is needed for Linux which knew later.
Don't know whether there's a deprecated one or depends on the OS and V Version.

For the moment the tested works on 7 and 11 here