Enable Direct2D and DirectWrite Hardware Acceleration for Better Graphics Performance in Firefox [Firefox]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5825280/enable-direct2d-and-directwrite-hardware-acceleration-for-better-graphics-performance-in-firefox

With a few about:config tweaks, you can turn on Firefox's built-in hardware acceleration and improve both graphical performance and the look of your fonts.

If you have a decent graphics card (DirectX 10-capable) and Windows 7 (or Windows Vista with the Vista Platform Upgrade), you can make graphics processing a bit more efficient with these tweaks:

1. Type about:config into your address bar and promise Firefox you'll be careful.
2. Type render in the search box, and find the following two keys:
   gfx.font_rendering.directwrite.enabled
   mozilla.widget.render-mode
3. Double click on the gfx.font_rendering.directwrite.enabled entry so that it's set to true.
4. Double-click on the mozilla.widget.render-mode entry and set the value to 6. If you can't find this key, right-click anywhere in the window, hit to New > Integer, set it's name to mozilla.widget.render-mode, and value to 6.
5. Restart Firefox

Now, you should notice that your fonts look a little bit nicer, and certain pages (like Google Maps) move a little bit smoother. To revert back, just go back into about:config, disable gfx.font_rendering.directwrite.enabled, and set mozilla.widget.render-mode to -1. Hit the link below to read more.

How to Enable Direct2D & DirectWrite Hardware Acceleration in Mozilla Firefox | Tweaking with Vishal

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You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.