From Tom's Hardware Guide, 2:00 AM - July 13, 2010 by Adam Overa
Once again, we find ourselves in a situation where multiple parties are claiming the speed crown. Obviously, all of these claims can't be true. The fact is, it's easy enough to produce favorable results supporting ANY browser. You can even do this for IE6 if you try hard enough. Simply pick a single benchmark or a group of potato-oriented tests and viola, there's the fastest browser ever! That is why we run all of them. If we find a valid benchmark that runs on every browser, we use it.
While this is a follow-up to our original Web Browser Grand Prix, we have also included some standards compliance testing along with enhanced memory benchmarks. We feel that even though these tests do not directly affect speed, they are crucial to overall performance. But don't worry, we'll separate those benchmarks from our speed tests in the conclusion, so you'll still get to find out which Web browser is the fastest when judged purely on raw speed. Without further adieu, let's get to the testing!
Once again, we find ourselves in a situation where multiple parties are claiming the speed crown. Obviously, all of these claims can't be true. The fact is, it's easy enough to produce favorable results supporting ANY browser. You can even do this for IE6 if you try hard enough. Simply pick a single benchmark or a group of potato-oriented tests and viola, there's the fastest browser ever! That is why we run all of them. If we find a valid benchmark that runs on every browser, we use it.
While this is a follow-up to our original Web Browser Grand Prix, we have also included some standards compliance testing along with enhanced memory benchmarks. We feel that even though these tests do not directly affect speed, they are crucial to overall performance. But don't worry, we'll separate those benchmarks from our speed tests in the conclusion, so you'll still get to find out which Web browser is the fastest when judged purely on raw speed. Without further adieu, let's get to the testing!
Startup time is tested under two different stress levels: a single tab and eight tabs (the current home tab limit imposed by Internet Explorer 8). In order to get a look at both laboratory and real-world numbers, we use live Web sites for the both the startup times and memory usage benchmarks. How often do you open your browser up to a file on your hard drive? Our Page Load Times benchmarks
remain locally stored to provide a laboratory theoretical max speed.
Single Tab
When Mozilla released Firefox 3.6.6 it said the release was a minor version change, bringing only bug fixes and a slightly tweaked startup time. It did a great job achieving that latter point. Firefox now starts up faster with a single tab than any of the other browsers, barely edging out Opera 10.60. IE8 grabs third, followed by Google Chrome and Apple Safari.
But keep in mind all of the browsers perform well in this test; startup times are all down to around five seconds on our test platform.
Eight Tabs
The placing changes when eight tabs are opened. Opera's six seconds is the lowest by far, only two seconds longer than opening a single tab! Chrome, Firefox, and Safari come in second, third, and fourth, respectively, all taking around fifteen seconds to start up with just a tenth of a second between them. Internet Explorer finishes last at nearly eighteen seconds.
Benchmark Results: Page Load Times
Our Page Load Time tests underwent some changes since the last Web Browser Grand Prix. We've updated the lineup to reflect the top five most visited Web sites, according to Quantcast. The new selection includes Google, Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, and MSN. These sites were saved to the hard drive on June 19th, 2010.
Run from the hard drive, this set of tests provides a controlled laboratory perspective on the theoretical, best-case-scenario page load times, and therefore may differ greatly from real-world performance.
Google
Google's browser is the fastest at loading the Google homepage, followed closely by its WebKit cousin, Apple Safari. Firefox and IE8 take third and fourth, while Opera drags far behind, almost doubling Mozilla's time.
Facebook
Firefox manages to load the Facebook homepage the fastest. Chrome follows by 20 milliseconds,
with Internet Explorer another twenty behind Chrome. Safari takes fifty milliseconds longer than IE, and Opera comes in last.
Yahoo!
Chrome takes back the top spot for Yahoo! page load time, trailed this time by the browsers from Microsoft and Apple. Struggling to keep up is Opera, and then Firefox.
YouTube
Chrome yet again takes the gold by a solid margin, followed by Firefox and Opera in a near dead heat. IE8 is just 20 ms behind Opera, while Safari flounders at over five hundred milliseconds.
MSN
Chrome finishes first for a fourth time in our page load tests. IE has another good showing at second place. Safari is in third with Opera closely in tow. Firefox is again defeated, finishing last and taking nearly twice as long as Opera.
Benchmark Results: JavaScript
SunSpider v0.9.1
Opera is the clear winner in the latest version of WebKit's SunSpider JavaScript benchmark. Trailing by one hundred milliseconds is Chrome, with Safari close behind in third. Fourth place finisher Firefox is nearly three times slower than the top three, while IE8 is just completely off the charts, taking more than five times longer to finish than Mozilla.
Google V8 Benchmark v5
As we might have predicted, Google Chrome scores the most points in the company's V8 benchmark. Opera comes in 450 points behind Chrome's score, while third-place finisher Safari trails the leader by over one thousand points. Firefox earns just shy of 300 points. Again in last place, IE8 receives a score of slightly over sixty.
JSBenchmark
The placing in JSBenchmark closely resembles that of the Google V8 test. Chrome again places first by a significant margin, but this time Apple's Safari slightly edges out Opera for second place. Firefox fills fourth place with IE8 floundering behind in fifth.
Mozilla Dromaeo JavaScript
Once again, Opera displays troubling results. It is simply too far ahead of the other contenders for this score to be valid. Chrome therefore becomes the winner here, with second-place Safari pulling in less than half the number of runs per second. Firefox takes fourth with just shy of sixty runs per second, while Internet Explorer scores fifty.
On a side note, Chrome v5.0.375.86 also displayed seriously skewed results in this test--almost a thousand more runs than Opera! However, the slight version change to 5.0.375.99 brought the outcome back in line with reality.
Benchmark Results: DOM And Peacekeeper
Mozilla Dromaeo DOM
Opera places first in the Dromaeo DOM test. Scoring a solid 300 runs per second higher than Safari, though not far enough ahead to appear invalid. Chrome closely trails Apple's browser and beats Mozilla by a few hundred runs per second. Internet Explorer is again dead last, with a score of just over one hundred.
Futuremark Peacekeeper
Opera 10.60 blazes through the Peacekeeper test, earning a score of nearly 4300--the first browser to pass the 4000 mark on this test system. Chrome comes in second, just shy of 4000. Safari 5 finishes in a distant third, while Firefox only scores 2000. As usual, Internet Explorer has a pitiful showing, with a score of just over 500, one-eighth of Opera's score.
Benchmark Results: HTML5
For HTML5 performance testing, we utilized the new GUIMark 2 benchmarking suite. Instead of a single test, like the previous version, GUIMark 2 offers three separate tests that showcase popular applications of HTML5: vector, bitmap, and text. The vector test has two versions: one that changes lines by a single pixel and one that changes by two pixels. According to CraftyMind, the makers of GUIMark, the one-pixel version of the test increases performance in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
The benchmark author also states that Safari will not run the test unless the run button is pressed repeatedly. This did occur on our test system as well. However, Safari's showing appears to be accurate still. With the exception of the two-pixel vector test, Safari's scores all seem to be valid.
Internet Explorer 8 would not run either of the vector charting tests, or the bitmap gaming test. The browser reports the current frame rate at 10 FPS for these benchmarks, but displays nothing, and the run button won't initiate the test.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Vector Charting (1 pixel)
In the one-pixel version of the vector charting test, Opera takes the lead by a solid 1.5 FPS over second-place finisher, Safari. Firefox comes in third, 4.5 FPS behind Safari. Chrome produces a pitiful 4.3 FPS, almost four times lower than Opera's score.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Vector Charting (2 pixels)
Our experience with the original two-pixel version of the vector charting test mirrors what the benchmark's author described. All of the browsers have very slightly lowered scores, except Safari, which completely tanks the two-pixel test. Opera still holds the top spot with Firefox trailing far behind in second place. Chrome once again performs horribly, barely breaking the 4 FPS barrier. As stated, Safari has an absolutely terrible showing at under 3 FPS.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Bitmap Gaming
None of the browsers perform particularly well in the HTML5 bitmap gaming test, though Opera has a clear lead over the rest of the pack with slightly over 8 FPS. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox place 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively, with each browser performing about one frame slower than the one before.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Text Columns
Firefox takes the lead ahead of Google Chrome by nearly a full frame per second. Believe it or not, Chrome is trailed by Internet Explorer, which returned to the race for this final HTML5 test. Safari places fourth, behind IE8 by a mere half frame per second. And in a reversal from the previous HTML5 tests, Opera comes in last, though only 3.36 FPS behind first place finisher Chrome.
The benchmark author also states that Safari will not run the test unless the run button is pressed repeatedly. This did occur on our test system as well. However, Safari's showing appears to be accurate still. With the exception of the two-pixel vector test, Safari's scores all seem to be valid.
Internet Explorer 8 would not run either of the vector charting tests, or the bitmap gaming test. The browser reports the current frame rate at 10 FPS for these benchmarks, but displays nothing, and the run button won't initiate the test.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Vector Charting (1 pixel)
In the one-pixel version of the vector charting test, Opera takes the lead by a solid 1.5 FPS over second-place finisher, Safari. Firefox comes in third, 4.5 FPS behind Safari. Chrome produces a pitiful 4.3 FPS, almost four times lower than Opera's score.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Vector Charting (2 pixels)
Our experience with the original two-pixel version of the vector charting test mirrors what the benchmark's author described. All of the browsers have very slightly lowered scores, except Safari, which completely tanks the two-pixel test. Opera still holds the top spot with Firefox trailing far behind in second place. Chrome once again performs horribly, barely breaking the 4 FPS barrier. As stated, Safari has an absolutely terrible showing at under 3 FPS.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Bitmap Gaming
None of the browsers perform particularly well in the HTML5 bitmap gaming test, though Opera has a clear lead over the rest of the pack with slightly over 8 FPS. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox place 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively, with each browser performing about one frame slower than the one before.
GUIMark 2 HTML5: Text Columns
Firefox takes the lead ahead of Google Chrome by nearly a full frame per second. Believe it or not, Chrome is trailed by Internet Explorer, which returned to the race for this final HTML5 test. Safari places fourth, behind IE8 by a mere half frame per second. And in a reversal from the previous HTML5 tests, Opera comes in last, though only 3.36 FPS behind first place finisher Chrome.
Benchmark Results: Flash
Like the new HTML5 benchmarks in GUIMark 2, the Flash tests have also received an upgrade. The new Flash benchmark
also sports three separate tests for vector, bitmap, and text, though no single-pixel variant is needed for vector.
GUIMark 2 Flash: Vector Charting
Safari manages to top this round, with Internet Explorer and Opera closely in tow. Firefox and Chrome place fourth and fifth, trailing the others by two frames per second.
GUIMark 2 Flash: Bitmap Gaming
Opera has the slightest frame rate advantage over Firefox and Internet Explorer in Flash bitmap gaming. Safari comes in fourth, while Chrome again picks up the rear.
GUIMark 2 Flash: Text Columns
IE8 finally pulls off a victory, beating second-place finisher Opera by a fraction of a frame. Firefox and Safari are close behind, with Chrome yet again lagging behind the pack.
GUIMark Java Swing 5
All of the GUIMark Java Swing 5 scores are very close, within a fifth of a frame per second. But in the end, Opera tops the competition, with Firefox and IE8 in second and third, respectively. Chrome trails behind in fourth and Safari places fifth.
Encog Silverlight Benchmark
The Encog Silverlight benchmark is a new addition to the Web Browser Grand Prix. It replaces the Bubblemark Silverlight benchmark because it is easier to get clear reading; Bubblemark's score constantly changes.
With Encog, the lower the score, the better. Opera manages to get the lowest score by a decent margin. Safari comes in second, followed closely by Firefox and Chrome. Surprisingly, IE8 scores the lowest here. This was one benchmark we thought Microsoft's browser would actually have a good chance of winning.
also sports three separate tests for vector, bitmap, and text, though no single-pixel variant is needed for vector.
GUIMark 2 Flash: Vector Charting
Safari manages to top this round, with Internet Explorer and Opera closely in tow. Firefox and Chrome place fourth and fifth, trailing the others by two frames per second.
GUIMark 2 Flash: Bitmap Gaming
Opera has the slightest frame rate advantage over Firefox and Internet Explorer in Flash bitmap gaming. Safari comes in fourth, while Chrome again picks up the rear.
GUIMark 2 Flash: Text Columns
IE8 finally pulls off a victory, beating second-place finisher Opera by a fraction of a frame. Firefox and Safari are close behind, with Chrome yet again lagging behind the pack.
Benchmark Results: Java And Silverlight
GUIMark Java Swing 5
All of the GUIMark Java Swing 5 scores are very close, within a fifth of a frame per second. But in the end, Opera tops the competition, with Firefox and IE8 in second and third, respectively. Chrome trails behind in fourth and Safari places fifth.
Encog Silverlight Benchmark
The Encog Silverlight benchmark is a new addition to the Web Browser Grand Prix. It replaces the Bubblemark Silverlight benchmark because it is easier to get clear reading; Bubblemark's score constantly changes.
With Encog, the lower the score, the better. Opera manages to get the lowest score by a decent margin. Safari comes in second, followed closely by Firefox and Chrome. Surprisingly, IE8 scores the lowest here. This was one benchmark we thought Microsoft's browser would actually have a good chance of winning.
Benchmark Results: Memory Usage And Management
We modified our memory tests in accordance with some of the comments from the first article. Instead of just looking at how much memory each browser used, we also focused on how well that memory was managed. In the previous article, we tested each browser with ten, five, and a single tab open in a single browser window. This time, we took readings for a single tab after displaying google.com for five minutes. We then opened 39 more tabs, using sites that round out the Quantcast Top 40, ensuring that each site had fully loaded. After five minutes, a screen shot
of Windows Task Manager was taken to record memory usage. We then closed all the tabs except the original containing google.com. We again waited five minutes before recording the numbers.
Finally, we let the browser rest for an additional five minutes to see if the memory usage had dropped any further.
We performed this sequence of testing three times per browser. As stated on the previous page, we used live Web sites for this test. Too many of the top 40 sites are content-driven pages with scrolling headlines. Saving them to the hard drive would have lost content, and therefore provided a lower memory reading than real-world usage.
Single Tab
IE8 uses the least amount of memory in a single tab. Safari follows closely, with Chrome and Firefox in third and fourth (respectively). Opera uses the most memory in a single tab, more than twice as much as Microsoft's browser.
40 Tabs
Unfortunately, Apple Safari would not open 40 tabs at once. After nearly two hours, Safari only managed to fully open eight tabs of the forty-tab load. While the browser is capable of doing this, we found that the app maxes out our test system's CPU. A recreation of the benchmark was done on a top-of-the-line Core i7 rig, and though Safari took a noticeable time to completely load all of the tabs, it did finish. We ended up having to open each of the forty tabs one at a time for this benchmark to work.
Under the heavy load of 40 tabs, Firefox is the king of intelligent memory use. Mozilla's browser only monopolizes 230 megabytes with all forty Web pages fully loaded. Firefox demolishes second-place finisher Opera, which uses almost 710 megabytes. Opera is followed closely by Chrome, which uses just under 740 megabytes and Internet Explorer, which consumes nearly 850 MB. Apple's Safari uses the most amount of memory at just over one gigabyte.
Side Note: Proper Page Loads
During the 40-tab test, we noticed how each of the browsers performed when completely loading and properly rendering Web pages. Chrome had trouble opening all 40 tabs correctly. A handful of the last few tabs did not load at all. And about half of those that loaded needed refreshing for missing or broken elements. Firefox, IE, and Opera did not have nearly as many broken pages, just a few here and there between the three iterations. Obviously, we had a heck of a time with Safari.
-39 Tabs
After closing all 39 additional tabs, leaving only Google open in a single tab, Google's Chrome returns nearly all of the previously-used system memory. Chrome only holds onto ten megabytes of excess RAM from the 39 closed tabs. This memory management is nothing short of exceptional. No other Web browser returns this amount of system memory after having so many tabs open. Even Firefox, which uses the least memory with a full load of tabs by far, returns less memory than Chrome (both in amount and in percentage). Firefox uses the second least amount of memory after closing 39 tabs, but only really returns half, holding onto 80 MB more than it had before the additional tabs were opened. Internet Explorer manages to surprise yet again, giving back three quarters of the 40-tab total. Safari also gives back three quarters of its 40-tab memory total, but that still puts it at 270 MB. Opera performs the worst in this arena, keeping over 350 megabytes after closing 39 of the forty tabs. Not only is this the largest amount of memory that a browser holds onto, but it is half of Opera's 40-tab total.
-39 Tabs: Five More Minutes
After an additional five minutes, Firefox gives back a noticeable amount of system memory (ten megabytes). Opera, on the other hand, gives back a more significant amount of RAM (90 MB). But the Norwegian Web browser still occupies last place. The other browsers showed no significant changes, and the placing remains the same.
of Windows Task Manager was taken to record memory usage. We then closed all the tabs except the original containing google.com. We again waited five minutes before recording the numbers.
Finally, we let the browser rest for an additional five minutes to see if the memory usage had dropped any further.
We performed this sequence of testing three times per browser. As stated on the previous page, we used live Web sites for this test. Too many of the top 40 sites are content-driven pages with scrolling headlines. Saving them to the hard drive would have lost content, and therefore provided a lower memory reading than real-world usage.
Single Tab
IE8 uses the least amount of memory in a single tab. Safari follows closely, with Chrome and Firefox in third and fourth (respectively). Opera uses the most memory in a single tab, more than twice as much as Microsoft's browser.
40 Tabs
Unfortunately, Apple Safari would not open 40 tabs at once. After nearly two hours, Safari only managed to fully open eight tabs of the forty-tab load. While the browser is capable of doing this, we found that the app maxes out our test system's CPU. A recreation of the benchmark was done on a top-of-the-line Core i7 rig, and though Safari took a noticeable time to completely load all of the tabs, it did finish. We ended up having to open each of the forty tabs one at a time for this benchmark to work.
Under the heavy load of 40 tabs, Firefox is the king of intelligent memory use. Mozilla's browser only monopolizes 230 megabytes with all forty Web pages fully loaded. Firefox demolishes second-place finisher Opera, which uses almost 710 megabytes. Opera is followed closely by Chrome, which uses just under 740 megabytes and Internet Explorer, which consumes nearly 850 MB. Apple's Safari uses the most amount of memory at just over one gigabyte.
Side Note: Proper Page Loads
During the 40-tab test, we noticed how each of the browsers performed when completely loading and properly rendering Web pages. Chrome had trouble opening all 40 tabs correctly. A handful of the last few tabs did not load at all. And about half of those that loaded needed refreshing for missing or broken elements. Firefox, IE, and Opera did not have nearly as many broken pages, just a few here and there between the three iterations. Obviously, we had a heck of a time with Safari.
-39 Tabs
After closing all 39 additional tabs, leaving only Google open in a single tab, Google's Chrome returns nearly all of the previously-used system memory. Chrome only holds onto ten megabytes of excess RAM from the 39 closed tabs. This memory management is nothing short of exceptional. No other Web browser returns this amount of system memory after having so many tabs open. Even Firefox, which uses the least memory with a full load of tabs by far, returns less memory than Chrome (both in amount and in percentage). Firefox uses the second least amount of memory after closing 39 tabs, but only really returns half, holding onto 80 MB more than it had before the additional tabs were opened. Internet Explorer manages to surprise yet again, giving back three quarters of the 40-tab total. Safari also gives back three quarters of its 40-tab memory total, but that still puts it at 270 MB. Opera performs the worst in this arena, keeping over 350 megabytes after closing 39 of the forty tabs. Not only is this the largest amount of memory that a browser holds onto, but it is half of Opera's 40-tab total.
-39 Tabs: Five More Minutes
After an additional five minutes, Firefox gives back a noticeable amount of system memory (ten megabytes). Opera, on the other hand, gives back a more significant amount of RAM (90 MB). But the Norwegian Web browser still occupies last place. The other browsers showed no significant changes, and the placing remains the same.
Benchmark Results: Standards Testing
This section includes standards compliance benchmarks like Acid 3, the new HTML5Test.com, and the CSS3 Selectors Test. While they're not speed tests like the rest of our Web Browser Grand Prix, these benchmarks are extremely important to a browser's ability to properly render Web pages using the latest standards.
With the exception of the Acid 3 completion times, these scores will be held separate from our final judgment on speed, but they will factor into our overall conclusion of performance.
HTML5 Test
Google Chrome takes the HTML5 compliance test by storm, earning a solid 32 point lead over second-place finisher Safari. Apple manages to pull off a slight upset, beating Opera by six points. Firefox places fourth, twenty points behind Opera's 159. As expected, IE8 flunks out, earning a meager 27 points.
CSS3 Selectors Test
Firefox tops the list for CSS3, bringing in a full 578 points. Opera places second with 576, while Chrome and Firefox tie for third with 574. Internet Explorer once again occupies last place, scoring only 349 points out of a possible 578.
Acid 3: Pass/Fail
Chrome, Opera, and Safari receive perfect scores of 100 in the Acid 3 test. Firefox also gets an A at 94 out of 100. Internet Explorer predictably fails, managing to only score twenty points out of the possible hundred.
Acid 3: Speed
In order to call a definitive winner, and to determine placement, we compared the completion times of the three browsers that earned perfect scores in Acid 3.
Opera slaughters the browsers from both Apple and Google. The Norwegian app finishes Acid 3 in almost half the time it takes Safari or Chrome. While I'm sure someone will point out that we are talking about partial seconds here, let me just say that we're also talking about half the time to achieve the same score. A decisive victory is won by Opera. Apple Safari beats Google Chrome by a mere 0.03 seconds to come in second.
With the exception of the Acid 3 completion times, these scores will be held separate from our final judgment on speed, but they will factor into our overall conclusion of performance.
HTML5 Test
Google Chrome takes the HTML5 compliance test by storm, earning a solid 32 point lead over second-place finisher Safari. Apple manages to pull off a slight upset, beating Opera by six points. Firefox places fourth, twenty points behind Opera's 159. As expected, IE8 flunks out, earning a meager 27 points.
CSS3 Selectors Test
Firefox tops the list for CSS3, bringing in a full 578 points. Opera places second with 576, while Chrome and Firefox tie for third with 574. Internet Explorer once again occupies last place, scoring only 349 points out of a possible 578.
Acid 3: Pass/Fail
Chrome, Opera, and Safari receive perfect scores of 100 in the Acid 3 test. Firefox also gets an A at 94 out of 100. Internet Explorer predictably fails, managing to only score twenty points out of the possible hundred.
Acid 3: Speed
In order to call a definitive winner, and to determine placement, we compared the completion times of the three browsers that earned perfect scores in Acid 3.
Opera slaughters the browsers from both Apple and Google. The Norwegian app finishes Acid 3 in almost half the time it takes Safari or Chrome. While I'm sure someone will point out that we are talking about partial seconds here, let me just say that we're also talking about half the time to achieve the same score. A decisive victory is won by Opera. Apple Safari beats Google Chrome by a mere 0.03 seconds to come in second.
Final Results: Placing
Just as we promised in the introduction, we separated the complete standings from the speed-only standings. So we could potentially have two winners today!
Total Placing
The overall winner, when including the non-speed benchmarks
, is Google Chrome. Opera is very close on Google's heels, actually bagging more first-place finishes, but it's Chrome's excellent memory management and standards compliance scores (both non-speed tests) that keep Google the slight overall point leader.
In an unexpected upset, Mozilla Firefox fills the third place spot instead of Apple's “fastest browser in the world", despite Safari earning the most second place finishes. Safari 5 falls solidly behind Firefox 3.6.6, which places last the least out of any browser. IE8 once again gobbled up most of the losses, relegating Microsoft's offering to last place.
Speed Placing
When focusing purely on speed, Opera screeches past the competition to take the speed crown away from Google. Unlike last time, it isn't really a photo-finish. Chrome grabs second, but it's not enough to give Opera a run for the money. Firefox and Safari are in a dead heat for third, with a ever so slight edge in Mozilla's favor. As we all already knew, Internet Explorer owns last place.
Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/opera-10.60-internet-explorer-9-safari-5,2680.html
Total Placing
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Firefox | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| Internet Explorer | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Opera | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Safari | 1 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
The overall winner, when including the non-speed benchmarks
, is Google Chrome. Opera is very close on Google's heels, actually bagging more first-place finishes, but it's Chrome's excellent memory management and standards compliance scores (both non-speed tests) that keep Google the slight overall point leader.
In an unexpected upset, Mozilla Firefox fills the third place spot instead of Apple's “fastest browser in the world", despite Safari earning the most second place finishes. Safari 5 falls solidly behind Firefox 3.6.6, which places last the least out of any browser. IE8 once again gobbled up most of the losses, relegating Microsoft's offering to last place.
Speed Placing
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Firefox | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Internet Explorer | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| Opera | 11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Safari | 1 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
When focusing purely on speed, Opera screeches past the competition to take the speed crown away from Google. Unlike last time, it isn't really a photo-finish. Chrome grabs second, but it's not enough to give Opera a run for the money. Firefox and Safari are in a dead heat for third, with a ever so slight edge in Mozilla's favor. As we all already knew, Internet Explorer owns last place.
Conclusion
Like last time, we break down the results by category to determine how the browsers perform overall. Now, instead of just leaving you with a winner and calling it a day, we're also going to break down some of the strengths and weaknesses of these browsers, observed during the course of benchmarking. We spotlight the weak points, again, not to beat on any of these apps, but in the hope that it will not be an issue be when the time comes for Web Browser Grand Prix 3.
Winner By Category / Test
During the course of benchmarking, we observed that the WebKit browsers from Apple and Google displayed some troubling non-memory related behavior during the 40 tab memory usage test. Though not specifically tested, the CPU is maxed out by Safari in this benchmark, tying up the system indefinitely. While Google's browser didn't become unresponsive or exhibit any CPU issues, a few Web pages didn't load at all - they didn't freeze or stall, but simply appeared as blank white pages with no activity. Many of the pages that Chrome did load required reloading due to broken or missing elements - significantly more than Firefox, IE8, or Opera. We'll be looking into concocting ways of measuring CPU usage as well as proper, complete, and accurate page rendering for a future edition of the Web Browser Grand Prix.
In the previous Web Browser Grand Prix, Opera had a small lead on our winner Google Chrome when the results were broken down by category. This time around, Opera wrangles a massive victory, dominating in eight out of the fourteen categories. This makes Opera the hands down winner of Web Browser Grand Prix 2. Though Google Chrome holds a scant lead in points when taking all benchmarks into account, Opera easily wins the speed race and owns over half of the wins per category. Right now, the Norgwegian browser-maker is the only outfit that can claim to have "the world's fastest browser."
Will Opera continue to best the competition in almost every single speed test? Will Chrome again dominate JavaScript and Page Load Times? Will Apple ever get around to fixing Safari's CPU and memory issues (will Opera fix the latter)? Can anyone reach Firefox-level peak memory use, or match Chrome in management? With Chrome 6, Firefox 4, and Internet Explorer 9 just around the bend, it won't be too long before we find out. Until then, stay tuned to Tom's Hardware.
Follow Adam on Twitter
Winner By Category / Test
During the course of benchmarking, we observed that the WebKit browsers from Apple and Google displayed some troubling non-memory related behavior during the 40 tab memory usage test. Though not specifically tested, the CPU is maxed out by Safari in this benchmark, tying up the system indefinitely. While Google's browser didn't become unresponsive or exhibit any CPU issues, a few Web pages didn't load at all - they didn't freeze or stall, but simply appeared as blank white pages with no activity. Many of the pages that Chrome did load required reloading due to broken or missing elements - significantly more than Firefox, IE8, or Opera. We'll be looking into concocting ways of measuring CPU usage as well as proper, complete, and accurate page rendering for a future edition of the Web Browser Grand Prix.
| Category / Test | Winner | Also Strong | Weak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed Tests | |||
| Startup Times | Opera | None | None |
| Page Load Times | Chrome | None | Opera |
| JavaScript | Chrome | Opera, Safari | Firefox, Internet Explorer |
| DOM | Opera | None | Internet Explorer |
| Peacekeeper | Opera | Chrome | Internet Explorer |
| HTML5 Performance | Opera | None | None |
| Acid 3 | Opera | Chrome, Safari | Internet Explorer |
| Flash | Opera | Internet Explorer | Chrome |
| Java | Opera | All | None |
| Silverlight | Opera | All | None |
| Other Tests | |||
| Memory Usage | Firefox | None | Safari |
| Memory Management | Chrome | None | Firefox, Opera |
| CSS3 Compliance | Firefox | Chrome, Opera, Safari | Internet Explorer |
| HTML5 Compliance | Chrome | Firefox, Opera, Safari | Internet Explorer |
In the previous Web Browser Grand Prix, Opera had a small lead on our winner Google Chrome when the results were broken down by category. This time around, Opera wrangles a massive victory, dominating in eight out of the fourteen categories. This makes Opera the hands down winner of Web Browser Grand Prix 2. Though Google Chrome holds a scant lead in points when taking all benchmarks into account, Opera easily wins the speed race and owns over half of the wins per category. Right now, the Norgwegian browser-maker is the only outfit that can claim to have "the world's fastest browser."
Will Opera continue to best the competition in almost every single speed test? Will Chrome again dominate JavaScript and Page Load Times? Will Apple ever get around to fixing Safari's CPU and memory issues (will Opera fix the latter)? Can anyone reach Firefox-level peak memory use, or match Chrome in management? With Chrome 6, Firefox 4, and Internet Explorer 9 just around the bend, it won't be too long before we find out. Until then, stay tuned to Tom's Hardware.
Follow Adam on Twitter
Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/opera-10.60-internet-explorer-9-safari-5,2680.html
