Browser.cache.memory.capacity
Background
When a page is loaded, it can be cached so it doesn't need to be rerendered to be redisplayed. This preference controls the maximum amount of memory to use for caching decoded images and chrome (application user interface elements).
Possible values and their effects
-1
Automatically decide the maximum memory to use to cache decoded images and chrome based on the total amount of RAM. (Default in all but Thunderbird and Minimo)
RAM | Cache |
---|---|
32MB | 2MB |
64MB | 4MB |
128MB | 8MB |
256MB | 14MB |
512MB | 22MB |
1GB | 32MB |
2GB | 44MB |
4GB | 58MB |
0
Do not cache decoded images and chrome in memory.
Any positive integer
Maximum amount of memory in KB to use to cache decoded images and chrome. (Thunderbird default: 4096. Minimo default: 256)
Caveats
- browser.cache.memory.enable must be true for this preference to take effect.
- Lowering this value causes less memory to be used but also increases the load time of previously visited pages and dialogs. Raising it has the opposite effect.
Recommended settings
Users who are having problems with memory consumption can try setting the value to something lower than specified in the table above to lower memory consumption. Note: You need to specify the new value in KB (not MB as given in the table). For example, assuming your installed RAM is 1 GB, based on the table above, your memory cache is preset to 32 MB or 32768 KB (32 X 1024). This value is quite high and may cause symptoms of a memory leak [1]. In that case, you may want to reduce the value to 16 MB by entering a new value of 16384 (16 X 1024).
Users who have no problems with memory should leave it at -1.
First checked in
Has an effect in
- Netscape (all versions since 6.1)
- Mozilla Suite (all versions since 0.9.1)
- Phoenix (all versions)
- Firebird (all versions)
- Firefox (all versions)
- Thunderbird (all versions)
- Minimo (all versions)
- Seamonkey (all versions)
Related bugs
- Bug 85054 - Hard Drive grinds when disk cache set to zero.
- Bug 105344 - Memory cache pref should be a percentage of physical RAM
- Bug 204164 - Calculating memory cache as percentage of physical memory may not be such a good idea
- Bug 296538 - limit the memory cache to a reasonable value