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3-way hardware accelerated browser rematch: Internet Explorer 9 finally on top (video)
In the last five months, all three browsers have been maturing. Chrome has leapfrogged from version 7 to 9, Firefox has been working frantically on its JavaScript engine to catch Chrome, and Internet Explorer 9 has been quietly -- but confidently -- working behind the scenes on the entire package. The emergence of new features has all but ceased: all three vendors are now readying themselves for an epic market share battle at the start of 2011.
The good news is, at least for the users, is that all three browsers are very fast. All three browsers have significantly improved since August, both in speed and standards-compliance, and it's now clear that you'll enjoy the Web no matter your browser. The only real question mark hovers over Opera -- version 11 is meant to be hardware accelerated, but until we actually see it, who knows.
In this new deathmatch, there is no run-away winner. Firefox 4 certainly looks like the slowest of the three, and Chrome -- dirty, pulls-no-punches Chrome -- is definitely faster, but I still don't think it matches the shiny, smooth slickness of Microsoft's newest browser. Internet Explorer 9, if you watch its side-by-side performance and figure in its excellent results from other benchmarks, must surely be the current king of HTML5-enabled, hardware-accelerated browsers.
Hardware setup: Intel i7 930 @ 3.8GHz, NVIDIA GTX 460, 6GB RAM.
Software setup: Windows 7 64-bit, Firefox 4b7, IE9b2, Chrome 9 (build 64562).
Comments
19
Subscribe to commentsSilverWaveNov 30th 2010 4:15PM
IE9 == Soul Taint
Now who wants a dirty soul?
;-)
Sebastian AnthonyNov 30th 2010 4:22PM
@(Unverified) Firefox = hairy hippy. Chrome = capitalist dog.
Pick your poison!
hectormaciasa79Nov 30th 2010 7:48PM
@(Unverified)
Now all accounts are "Unverified"
Very funny, and about your comment, whats Opera then? BTW Safari = Capitalist dog plus.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 30th 2010 7:58PM
@(Unverified) Hey! Yeah, we're working on the Unverified thing -- hope it's fixed soon.
Opera would undoubtedly be Socialist Swine, and Safari... yeah, Capitalist Pig Plus!
KualaBeeNov 30th 2010 9:47PM
Thats nice and all, but how about cpu load, and memory usage?
Sebastian AnthonyDec 1st 2010 7:13AM
@(Unverified) Memory usage is pretty small -- they are just simple sites after all :)
CPU usage you can see in the video (it's high, understandably).
mmxz3roNov 30th 2010 10:18PM
Hey,
isn't FF4b8 out already? Wouldn't that make this an unfair test for Firefox?
Sebastian AnthonyDec 1st 2010 7:14AM
@mmxz3ro There are FFb8 nightly builds out, but the latest 'stable' beta is FFb7.
If it's any consolation, the version of Chrome used is about a month old, too.
Oskar (:icecold)Nov 30th 2010 11:18PM
This tests actually doesn't show real performance of browser and they are not fair to other browsers.
Also I have different numbers than yours. (test winners don't match)
But anyway, IE 9 is winning in HW acceleration. Why? Because they only do Vista and Windows 7.
Sebastian AnthonyDec 1st 2010 7:19AM
@(Unverified) What numbers do you have? (And with what browser versions?)
As far as I know, both FF and IE9 use Direct2D to accelerate on Windows Vista/7. I forget what Chrome uses -- some cross-platform thing, IIRC.
mohsenu88Dec 1st 2010 4:34AM
not trying to be a smartass but
Intel i7 930 is 2.8 GHz not 3.8 GHz
Sebastian AnthonyDec 1st 2010 7:16AM
@(Unverified) It's overclocked to 3.8GHz...! :)
JoshDec 1st 2010 9:59AM
I can't even get Firefox 4's hardware acceleration to work. Every time I turn it on (on Windows or OS X), it is buggy and laggy to the point where when you open any window, you must resize or drag it to view the contents of the window (and the includes dialogue boxes, which is a problem in OS X where dialog boxes are not draggable or resizeable).
BaddogDec 1st 2010 2:30PM
Nuff processors?
RyzvonusefDec 2nd 2010 2:08AM
Hey, I didn't understand the bit on "seeing" Opera, isn't 11 beta out? Or did you mean that that beta didn't have hardware acceleration coded in yet?
Btw, I have installed Opera 11 Beta on my Ubuntu run, but I am not going to use Firefox until I can "apt-get" the full Firefox 4 (Currently running Chrome-dev). Way to go making me jealous, Seb :P
Also honest question, just because IE9 *is* fast, would you *actually* switch over to it?
RyzvonusefDec 2nd 2010 2:27AM
@Ryzvonusef
Also, it seems I am not suffering the "Unverified" bug. May be it's fixed? Though I can't seem to change my avatar...
Sebastian AnthonyDec 2nd 2010 4:26AM
@Ryzvonusef The Unverified thing is really random -- some people have been immune to it from day one... while most of us have been stuck with it. I hope it's fixed soon.
Opera 11 beta is out, but it doesn't have hardware acceleration in yet. The next beta might have HW acceleration though. If they do it right, it might be an incredibly fast browser.
To be honest, I switch between IE9 and FF4. I don't really use add-ons, so it all comes down to speed and ease of use. IE9 is one seriously slick browser AND it's fast. I would recommend everyone try it out for a week and see how they get on :)
Sebastian AnthonyDec 2nd 2010 4:26AM
@(Unverified) Doh, I'm still unverified :(
Thomas HoustonDec 2nd 2010 9:15AM
almost fixed.