Google Chrome 53 Gains 15 Percent Speed Boost In Windows 10 With Microsoft PGO Tech
You may find it hard to believe that browser makers are still finding ways to make surfing the web faster than it already is, but with so much code underneath the hood combined with the web's growing capabilities, expect to see performance claims for a long time to come. So it goes with Google and its Chrome browser. Starting in Chrome 53, Chrome has started using Microsoft's Profile Guided Optimization (PGO) technology to deliver up to around a 15 percent performance boost in Windows.
Here's the thing about Chrome, there are more than a million functions in its source code. Not all of those are called upon at the same frequency—some are used often while others sit on the sidelines like a third string quarterback waiting for their big moment. This is where Microsoft's PGO technology comes into play. It looks at which functions are most commonly used and then optimizes them.
"To gather this data, the nightly build process now produces a special version of Chrome that tracks how often functions are used. PGO then optimizes those high-use functions for speed, in some cases increasing the binary size of those functions. To balance out that increase, PGO also optimizes less-used functions with smaller, though slightly slower code," Google explains.
PGO also dips its fingers into the memory location of code and moves functions that are rarely used away from more commonly used ones in memory. The scheme is a more optimal use of the CPU instruction cache, which no longer has to waste time caching infrequently used code.
The end result of all this is that Chrome loads itself up to 16.8 percent faster, while increasing page loads by up to 5.9 percent and new tab pages by up to 14.8 percent.
PGO is enabled in the 64-bit version of Chrome as of version 53, while the 32-bit version uses PG starting with Chrome 54.
Here's the thing about Chrome, there are more than a million functions in its source code. Not all of those are called upon at the same frequency—some are used often while others sit on the sidelines like a third string quarterback waiting for their big moment. This is where Microsoft's PGO technology comes into play. It looks at which functions are most commonly used and then optimizes them.
"To gather this data, the nightly build process now produces a special version of Chrome that tracks how often functions are used. PGO then optimizes those high-use functions for speed, in some cases increasing the binary size of those functions. To balance out that increase, PGO also optimizes less-used functions with smaller, though slightly slower code," Google explains.
PGO also dips its fingers into the memory location of code and moves functions that are rarely used away from more commonly used ones in memory. The scheme is a more optimal use of the CPU instruction cache, which no longer has to waste time caching infrequently used code.
The end result of all this is that Chrome loads itself up to 16.8 percent faster, while increasing page loads by up to 5.9 percent and new tab pages by up to 14.8 percent.
PGO is enabled in the 64-bit version of Chrome as of version 53, while the 32-bit version uses PG starting with Chrome 54.
