Experiencing strange visual glitches, or "artifacting," in your Chrome browser can be incredibly frustrating. Many users might immediately suspect a hardware problem, like a failing graphics card. However, sometimes the issue lies within Chrome itself, specifically with its rendering settings and compatibility with your graphics drivers. This article explores a common cause of artifacting in Chrome and provides a straightforward solution.
A common cause of artifacting, especially for users with Nvidia graphics cards, stems from a conflict between Nvidia's drivers and Chrome's default rendering engine. This issue often manifests as visual glitches, distorted textures, or flickering elements within the Chrome browser and other Chromium-based applications like Steam and Discord.
Fortunately, there's a simple fix that involves tweaking Chrome's rendering settings. The solution involves changing the ANGLE graphics backend, which controls how Chrome renders web content. Here's how to do it:
chrome://flags and press Enter. This will take you to Chrome's experimental features page.
While OpenGL works for many users facing this issue, compatibility can vary. If OpenGL doesn't resolve the artifacting, revisit chrome://flags and experiment with other available options, such as "D3D9" or "D3D11."
If changing the ANGLE graphics backend doesn't resolve the artifacting, another potential solution is to roll back your Nvidia drivers to an older version. Older drivers might have better compatibility with Chrome's rendering engine. You can download old drivers from Nvidia's website and follow their guide on how to install older drivers.
Artifacting in Chrome can be a nuisance, but it's often a software-related issue rather than a hardware failure. By adjusting Chrome's ANGLE graphics backend or rolling back your Nvidia drivers, you can resolve the problem and restore a smooth browsing experience. Remember to experiment with different ANGLE options to find the one that works best for your system.
