Does a full cache slow down firefox page loading speed?

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On the road i had to use a slow (64kB/s) internet connection with firefox 6. Max. cache size is 250 MB. While i never had problems with full cache on DSL connections and page loading speed, on very slow connections page loading needs a lot of time coinciding with full cache. I couldn't figure out another reason.

Can somebody back this behavior up and explain? What can you do? I already have extensions like quickimage, flashblock, adblock installed. What is the optimal size/refresh interval for Firefox Desktop/Mobile (Android)?

Hauser

Posted 2011-10-25T20:49:38.267

Reputation: 213

Answers

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A full cache is optimal for loading speed. If a page (or image, ...) is found in cache, it will be loaded from there instead of the internet. If it gets loaded and can be cached (only static files can) the oldest contents from cache will be deleted and replaced by the new ones.

If the cache is empty, never will never be cache hits. If it is half empty, chances are lower retrieving a file from the cache.

Jens Erat

Posted 2011-10-25T20:49:38.267

Reputation: 14 141

1I know what the purpose of cache is, anyway the full cache seem to slow down page loading of sites I often browse, I know its counter-intuitive, but maybe its a bug. I couldnt figure out any other reason what slows down firefox repeatedly – Hauser – 2011-10-25T21:18:00.383

There must be some reason that slows down cache accesses heavily. This could be some bug (try starting in safe mode / disable all plugins for testing, too) or some problems with really(!) heavy fragmentation or defective sectors. – Jens Erat – 2011-10-25T21:20:08.930

Asked: 2011-10-25T20:49:38.267

Viewed: 1 189 times

Active: 2012-07-11T19:45:36.823