I can adjust browser settings to optimise performance and meet needs

You can adjust a browsers settings to optimise performance easily by frequently deleting the browsers history and cookies. this can be done by clicking on the top right on the browser so that a tool bar opens up and you click on "History":

 a new page will appear with the following option at the top of the page:

 After clicking "clear browsing data..." a pop up will appear in the middle of the screen:

 After selecting the data to be removed by ticking the boxes and clicking the "clear browsing data" button the data will be gone which can be seen in the last picture:

Another way in which to speed up browsing performance but without having to alter the settings is to have no unnecessary background internet bandwidth consuming programs running. This can be extra Tabs on the browser or games.