faster alternative to firefox tab groups

Question

I had about 200 tabs open in about 15 tab groups. Needless to say, Firefox wasn't lightning fast (even with the "don't load tabs until selected" option checked). The solution that dramatically improved my browser performance was simple: I started using bookmark folders instead of tab groups. When I want to switch to a different set of tabs, I bookmark my current set, close all the tabs and then open a new set.

The problem is, it's pretty inconvenient. I'm looking for an extension that would make the whole process more automatic. Ideally, I'd like to have a simple toolbar button with drop down menu which would show me all my tab groups - clicking on them would switch my tab set. Moreover, it would be awesome if it would synchronize my open tabs to my bookmarks, so when I open/close a tab it would automatically update the bookmarked set. Of course, it doesn't have to use bookmarks, it can be some other database.

Is there an extension that suits my needs? If not, maybe some other browser has this feature?

EDIT:

I've just found Taskmark for Chrome. It does exactly what I want. Is there something similar for Firefox?

Answer 1

I have similarly stupid numbers of tabs open, I've tried other browsers over time as they came to market or as major new versions come out, but nothing seems to match Opera's ability to handle them. Sometimes an updated version gets a bit crashy at launch so I skip it and stick with an older one until it's patched but been using it about forever. Currently have a shade over 200 tabs open, though admittedly only a couple of handfuls are in tab groups.

I have turned off tab/thumbnail previews but they all load live (as well as retaining their histories through restarts/crashes), and also set my plugins to load only on request (and either click the play icon, or enable all in current tab from the address bar). Mostly use it on OS X now, but been in a similar position when I've had linux or solaris as my desktop OS.

Answer 2

I would second the multiple profiles option. What you're missing is that you can run multiple profiles concurrently, ie. separate browser instances. Ironically, I had this going with a separate Firefox for my work and for personal, but just recently switched to using a tab group for each, for the convenience of tab groups. I usually have about 30 tabs in each group, and my system (sandybridge core I5 running Ubuntu) runs fast enough, slowest part being the initial launch but that doesn't need to happen very often.

I hate to say it but if the 200 tabs slowing you down (for me I think it would still run OK), switching to Chrome might be your best option...