How to Fix Chrome Rendering Issues on Ubuntu
In this guide, learn the two simple solutions that can force Chrome to rely on your CPU instead of the GPU, and reset problematic temporary data.
If Chrome is displaying garbled text, broken graphics, or flickering pages on your Ubuntu system, don’t panic. These rendering glitches often come from GPU acceleration conflicts, outdated drivers, or corrupted cache files. The good news, though, is that fixing it usually takes just a few minutes, and you won’t lose your bookmarks, history, or saved passwords in the process.
In this guide, you will learn two proven solutions: disabling hardware acceleration (a quick fix for stubborn rendering bugs) and manually clearing Chrome’s GPU cache (a safer approach that preserves performance).
While the first method forces Chrome to rely on your CPU instead of the GPU, the second simply resets problematic temporary data. So, you can pick the best fit for your situation.
Oyinebiladou Omemu
(OPTION ONE) - Disable Hardware Acceleration on Chrome
Step 1: On your Chrome browser, type in "chrome://settings/system." This takes you to the advanced system settings.
Step 2: Toggle off the Use graphics acceleration button to disable hardware acceleration. Click relaunch to restart the browser.
(OPTION TWO) - Clear Chrome GPU Cache from the terminal
Step 1: Confirm that you have some cache data in your Chrome GPU cache. To do this, run "ls ~/.config/google-chrome/Default/GPUCache." You should see a list of items underneath.
Step 2: Now that you have your confirmation, navigate into the directory "cd ~/.config/google-chrome/Default/GPUCache"
Step 3: Now, safely delete the files from the cache by running "rm -rf ~/.config/google-chrome/Default/GPUCache/*"
Step 4: To confirm, go back to the root directory and run the "ls ~/.config/google-chrome/Default/GPUCache" command again. If it outputs nothing, then your cache is cleared. Restart your PC, and the problem should be fixed.
Oyinebiladou Omemu
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should now have a smoothly rendering Chrome browser on Ubuntu. If you choose to disable hardware acceleration or clear the GPU cache, both methods tackle the root causes of display issues, whether they stem from GPU conflicts or corrupted temporary files.
But if the problem persists, double-check for driver updates or try resetting Chrome flags (chrome://flags) to default settings, as experimental features can sometimes interfere with rendering.
Image Credit: Oyinebiladou Omemu/Techloy.com
