Please note: For optimal performance on Chromebooks, installing the native Labster app is strongly recommended. Use the browser-based recommendations below only if downloading the native app is not an option. (See the Chromebook Labster App Installation Guide for details).
Step 1: Adjust Labster In-Game Performance Settings
To enhance user experience, Labster offers three different playing modes directly within the simulation. Adjusting this is the most impactful step you can take:
Switch to Energy Saver Mode: This mode is ideal for optimizing performance on lower-end devices and conserving battery life.
How to enable it: Inside the simulation, open your LabPad, click on SETTINGS, navigate to the Performance menu, and select Energy Saver Mode
Step 2: Maximize Device Power
Plug in your charger: Chromebooks automatically throttle CPU and GPU performance when running on battery to conserve power.
Disable Chrome Energy Saver: Open Chrome, go to
chrome://settings/performance, and turn off Energy Saver while playing simulations.
Step 3: Restart Your Chromebook
Perform a full reboot: Turn your device completely off and back on before starting your lab assignment. This clears cached memory, frees up swap space, and terminates background system processes.
Step 4: Enable Hardware Acceleration
Open Google Chrome.
Type chrome://settings/system in the address bar and press Enter.
Toggle ON "Use graphics acceleration when available".
If prompted, click Relaunch to restart the browser.
Step 5: Clear Background Resources
Close unnecessary tabs and apps: Close streaming services (YouTube, Spotify), video conferencing tools (Zoom, Google Meet), and background web apps.
Open Chrome Task Manager:
Press Shift + Esc on your keyboard while in Chrome.
Click the Memory footprint or CPU column to sort active tasks.
Select heavy background tasks or unused extension processes and click End process.
Step 6: Adjust Chromebook Display Scaling
High-resolution rendering increases the workload on your device's integrated graphics. Reducing display scaling lowers the required rendering target size:
Open ChromeOS Settings from your quick settings panel (bottom right clock).
Go to Device > Displays.
Adjust the Display size slider down slightly (e.g., to 85% or 90%) to reduce rendering load during graphics-heavy simulations.
Step 7: Keep ChromeOS Up to Date
Updated operating system versions contain performance improvements and updated WebGL/GPU graphics drivers:
Go to Settings > About ChromeOS.
Click Check for updates.
Apply any available updates and restart your Chromebook.
Quick Troubleshooting Checklist
Issue | Primary Cause | Quick Fix
|
In-game lag or stuttering | Graphics settings are too high for the device | Open the LabPad SETTINGS, navigate to Performance, and change the mode to Energy Saver Mode. |
Simulation fails to load or shows a black screen | Graphics acceleration is off | Turn on Graphics acceleration in chrome://settings/system and restart Chrome. |
Browser crashes mid-simulation | System memory overload | Close all other Chrome tabs, close background apps, and restart the Chromebook before relaunching the lab. |