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How to make Flash Games + Apps Websites Run Faster in Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu is a great operating system for running software since Ubuntu Linux uses less RAM, and CPU cycles then Windows, and Mac on an older computer. But, I notice Ubuntu sometimes Ubuntu Linux play flash games and APPs on Facebook,  Miniclips, and other websites slowly.

But, Adobe Flash Player tends to use up a lot of RAM, and CPU power in Ubuntu Linux compared to running other apps in Ubuntu like Web Browsers, and media players.

These tips I mention in this post will also speed up your regular desktop games and programs which you use in Ubuntu Linux.

If you don’t have Adobe Flash Player installed on your computer, you can go to Ubuntu Software Center, and search for “Adobe Flash Player”, and click the install button to download and install Adobe Flash Player for Ubuntu Linux.

If the Adobe Flash Player plug-in is unstable on your computer, there are also 3rd-party flash player plug-ins which you can download from the Ubuntu Software Center, or online which may work better for you compared to using the official flash plug-in from Adobe for Linux.

I recommend running Ubuntu Update to see if you have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, and Firefox. The latest version of Adobe Flash for Linux seems more stable and fast then it was years a go.

Also, make sure you are using the latest version of Ubuntu Linux since the latest version of Ubuntu Linux most likely be more optimised to run Adobe Flash Player better then older versions of Ubuntu.

If online videos on YouTube, DailyMotion, and online flash sites just randomly stutters, and sound skippy, sometimes by just restarting or shutting down your computer, and turning it on again can make Videos runs without stuttering after you restarted your computer.

Lubuntu is a good version of Ubuntu for older computers since it uses the LXDE Linux desktop which does not need a fast computer to run. You can download Lubuntu at lubuntu.net .You can also use the Ubuntu Software Center to search for LXDE which install the LXDE theme on Ubuntu. You just need to log out, and set your desktop setting to LXDE which will change your desktop to the faster LXDE desktop.

Xubuntu is also is a good alternative to the default Unity interface if you want  a speedier desktop since it uses the XFCE desktop theme which is faster then Gnome, and Unity, but I feel LXDE is slightly faster then XCFE. XCFE seems a little more user friendly in my experience. You can download Xubuntu at xubuntu.org

You can also see if using Chromium or Google Chrome Web browser in Ubuntu will increase the performance of Flash games since some people claim Google Chrome is faster then Firefox, but I think they are mostly referring to the MS Windows version of Google Chrome since Firefox and Chrome does not have a huge speed difference in Ubuntu in my experience, and the zoom in and zoom out for the scroll wheel  on the mouse function in some flash games does not always work in Google Chrome, but works all the time in Firefox.

Closing programs which you are not actively using can also increase the amount of free RAM, and CPU cycles you can have to run your flash games. Also, close unused tabs on your web browsers since tabs on your web browsers which are open can use up RAM and CPU cycles as well.

Add-ons like Extensions, Plug-ins, and themes can also slow down your browser. In Firefox, you can click on the Firefox button on the top left of Firefox, and then click on the Add-on button on the right of the menu. You can disable add-ons which you don’t need like Toolbars, Themes, and plug-ins by clicking the disable button next to them. But, do not click on Disable for “Shockwave Flash” since it is needed to playback Flash games.

While you are in the Add-on section, you can check for Updates as well by clicking on the Check for updates button on the top right of the screen.

Some Flash Games especially Flash games on Facebook like Cityville, Farmville, etc let you adjust the quality settings for slower computers by pressing an icon which look like an Eye in the settings of the games. Zooming in on a game sometimes make the game run faster since less stuff in the game is being animated. Playing games in Full screen mode might also make games easier to play since you don’t need to drag the scene from one place to another which can sometimes make the game feel slower.

If the game have a storage function which lets you store un-used characters, buildings, stuff and animals, you can store them away since games tend to run faster when fewer things are being animated on the screen. You can also sell your virtual items for virtual cash in games, or throw them away if the game does not have a sell or store option.

If you want to level up faster in Facebook or other social MMO type games, you need to make a lot of friends, so  they send you stuff, and visit your land to do stuff for you, and you need to visit their land to do stuff for them. If you have real money, you can buy virtual money to buy stuff, and tasks to level up faster in the game.

If your computer is very slow like using a CPU which is under 1 GHz and using 512MB of RAM, it might be time for a new computer, or time to upgrade your CPU, and add more RAM which could make your flash games faster.

Puppy Linux Slacko 5.3.1 may be a better Linux Distro for you if your computer is very slow since Puppy Linux can run Flash websites after you installed Flash on it, and it is simple to install 3rd party browsers like Firefox, and Chromium. Plus, Puppy Linux is simple to use like Ubuntu. Puppy Linux can be downloaded at puppylinux.org .

If you are using a Nvidia, or ATI video card, you can check out Nvidia, or ATI website to see if they have newer versions of their video card drivers which are compatible with Linux.  Ubuntu also has a program called Additional Drivers which install 3rd-party drivers for your 3rd party hardware like video cards. You can also run Ubuntu Update to see if there are updated drivers for your hard ware.

A lot of computer and laptops which are inexpensive uses onboard video which is integrated into your computer motherboard, and uses a portion of your system RAM to use for video. You can usually go into your computers BIOS, or CMOS by hitting your  setup key like F11 on your keyboard. In the video or integrated peripheral settings of your BIOS, you can set your video RAM to a higher capacity. Using more of your system RAM as video RAM may increase your video performance.

You can also install a new AGP, or PCI-Express videocard on your motherboard for a desktop computer, and disable the onboard RAM. This will increase your video performance since a dedicated video card is faster then onboard video. Using a dedicated video card will also make it possible for you to play real computer games faster.

If you notice Flash websites, and websites in general take a longer to load, it could be a DNS performance problems. Changing your DNS server to Google DNS may help your website load speeds.

Here is a video to learn how to change Ubuntu to Google DNS.

Some Flash Games like Cityville also have a button which says “Click Here to Make Game load faster” which make the game load faster by caching more of its files on your computer.

You can also try emptying your web browsers temporary internet files which may make your web browser feel faster, or use less space on your hard drive in Ubuntu Linux, but this does not really make a huge difference. In Firefox, Click on the Firefox Button on the top left, and go to the History button, and a a menu will expand out. Click on Clear Recent History, and from the drop down menu pick everything, and all your history and temporary files will be deleted. Clearing your history is also good for making your computer download the most recent version of a website, and its objects instead of loading the version which is cached on your computer’s hard drive from the last time you visited the website. Plus, your privacy will be protected better from people who also use your account, and web browsers on your account in Ubuntu.

More Advance Tip: There are browser plug-ins which allow you to download the SWF files for Flash games Like Flash Video Downloader for Firefox which allow you to download flash games to your hard drive, or you can download the flash games by looking for the SWF link in the HTML source code for the website, and putting the link that ends in .swf into a download manager to download it. This allows you to play flash games offline with a media player or web browser which can play SWF files offline. The benefit is there’s no scripts, and other objects which can slow down your web browser. Although, this won’t work for MMO Facebook games like CityVille  since you need to be logged in to Facebook to play them.

Hopefully, in the future more web games will be made in HTML5 instead of Flash since I notice HTML5 games like chrome.angrybirds.com and games listed on html5games.com which run on HTML5 compatible web browsers like the latest version of Google Chrome, Firefox, and other HTML5 browsers seem to run games, and apps faster then Adobe Flash Player.

YouTube also has a HTML5 mode which you can turn-on at Youtube.com/html5 . The HTML5 video player works faster and is more stable then the Adobe Flash version of the player in my experience.

Share your tips on making Adobe Flash player faster in Ubuntu Linux!

7 comments… add one
  • Lucy R - SEO Los Angeles December 26, 2011, 9:41 am

    Great ways to run Flash games faster in Ubuntu !! Thanks

  • Johnson Yip December 26, 2011, 5:29 pm

    No problem, Lucy. I hope this helps you run flash games better in Ubuntu!

  • Joseph January 3, 2012, 9:39 am

    Sad thing my pc are no longer free to upgrade.. it needs a new cpu. great tips I also experience hangs of computer.

  • Vala July 7, 2016, 11:31 pm

    Not quite on the topic, I didnt like it. I was hoping for a solution – all I got was “windows” guide on how to clear cache of Firefox… and several Linux Distro Review… Going to look on different place for actual information how to make my games run faster on Linux.

  • Johnson Yip July 9, 2016, 4:36 pm

    Thanks for the review of my post. Best of luck finding other sites which teach you how to make games run faster on Linux.

  • Noma Moyet January 6, 2017, 1:15 am

    Thanks for writing this, I appreciate your info!

  • cheddar January 22, 2019, 12:04 pm

    ya know…at this point…where running flash games on a ubuntu requires so much information…linux users are the vegens of the tech world. we get it. you’re right, but dude…this is just baaad man. your average computer users are going to put up with the risks of fast food (corporate software) with pride just so they don’t have to deal with this headache of technical hullabaloo. and a chickem mcspicy is starting to sound better over a salad to me right now…so what if it’s bad for me? i hope it kills me sooner then you, it’s better then looking at your ugly mug anyways…

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