On June 13, Opera released the world's first gaming browser, Opera GX. In addition to the game theme and integration with Razer C...
On June 13, Opera released the world's first gaming browser, Opera GX. In addition to the game theme and integration with Razer Chroma, an option to manage CPU and RAM resources has appeared. But will this help the computer run faster?
What's new in Opera GX?
Opera GX is a desktop web browser for Windows. This browser is designed for video game fans. But versions for Xbox One or PlayStation 4 game consoles are not planned yet.
Like the standard version of Opera, Opera GX runs on the open-source Chromium engine. Based on it, the Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers work. Websites look the same as in the Chrome browser, you can install extensions from the application store.
The browser is free, the early beta was released on June 11, 2019 - during the E3 exhibition.
Game Theme (with Razer Chroma Support)
The first thing that catches your eye is the appearance. Opera GX maximally matches the image of the “gaming browser”. By default, there is a dark theme, but it is easy to change it to any other.
The browser has support for the Razer Chroma backlight system. If you enable this option, then the color of the browser window will be duplicated by all peripheral devices with support for this effect.
GX Control: RAM and CPU limits management
On the side panel, there is a GX Control key that allows you to manage PC resources. This is the most interesting option. With it, you can, for example, allocate 10% of the processor power to the browser or limit the use of memory.
If you enable it constantly, the browser, of course, will work more slowly. But if you do not want to close the tabs of all the tabs and exit the browser, the GX Control function will be useful.
It is unclear how much this will help increase productivity.
“Usually, all unnecessary programs are closed to make games run faster. We came up with the GX Control function to limit browser appetites and at the same time not force the user to close all tabs, ”explains Maciej Cocemba of Opera.
I must say that the browser does not speed up web games. Its functionality is intended only to limit the appetite of the browser.
What else is there?
In the left corner of the tab bar is always the tab "GX Corner". Here is news about future games and advertising. There is a section "Daily News", which contains the news of the world of video games.
There is a Twitch icon on the sidebar where you can watch online broadcasts and videos. Notifications about new videos appear there.
Opera GX has a set of GX Sound effects. Any mouse click, opening a tab, switching options is accompanied by musical effects or sounds. Opera emphasizes that all the effects were created in collaboration with sound engineer Ruben Rincon and the Berlinist band, who wrote the soundtrack for the game Gris.
Everything else - as in the regular version of Opera. For example, on the sidebar, there are instant messengers Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Vkontakte and WhatsApp, and you can chat directly from the browser interface.
There is also a built-in ad blocker, a free VPN and a “pop-up video” function. The “Video on top of the game” function will soon appear, you can watch a video passage and play at the same time.
Brief Summary
Despite the unusual appearance, this is a standard browser on the Chromium engine, with all its pros and cons. No more, no less.
But many gamers will surely like the browser. Support for Razer Chroma, design and sound effects look good. And even versions of Opera GX are numbered not by numbers, but by levels. The first version is designated as “first-level” - “LVL 1”.
Managing computer resources is also new. There was no such option in other browsers yet. And this is also a plus - almost no one thinks about all the growing appetites of browsers and web components. After selling the browser to the Chinese corporation Golden Brick, many rightly believed that in a few years the legendary Opera would be finally thrown into the dustbin of history and forgotten. It is good to see that these forecasts have not come true.
