New study crowns Google's Chrome king of speed

Mozilla's Firefox has long breezed past Internet Explorer, which is fast becoming the Buick of browsers: comfortable, safe, but little pizazz.

Google has upped the ante, as ExtremeTech discovers, blowing past Firefox 3, Apple's Safari, Opera, and IE in a recent performance test.

Given that ExtremeTech didn't review Mozilla's cutting-edge Minefield (Firefox alpha) browser release, which has been pegged as 10 percent faster than Chrome, Mozilla may still be the speed champion, but Google Chrome does push past its Firefox 3 browser.

Importantly, ExtremeTech didn't do a one-dimensional drag race between the browsers:

When you see speed tests for (a) browser that claim "Chrome loads faster," it's important to ask a few questions: loaded when, over what broadband speed, with what other apps running, on what machine?

With this in mind, ExtremeTech put the browsers through a battery of tests, including how the browsers performed with Flash, compatibility, JavaScript, and more. The conclusion?

Based on our arbitrary score assignments, Google Chrome is the speed king...Google uses its own knowledge of search and browsing habits to optimize Chrome, but Chrome is still in early development. It's also clear from our testing that Microsoft really needs to get IE 8 out the door--IE 7 not only has compatibility issues, but is substantially slower in many ways. Firefox 3.1 should also improve Firefox's scores.

What does it all really mean? For one thing, take a close look at your browser usage. Are you still using the default browser that came with your system? You may want to re-examine that. The end result may be a much more pleasant and productive Web experience.

Interestingly, IE 7 and Safari didn't even place in the competition, with only Firefox and Chrome really competing across the board. Microsoft needs to step up--big time--with IE 8, and Mozilla will, of course, continue to improve Firefox in its more iterative approach to innovation.

But for now, with Google Chrome expected to ship preinstalled on some desktops, Microsoft and Mozilla have a real fight on their hands. Who has the advantage? Consumers.

[cb3431]

"Google Chrome expected to ship pre-installed on some desktops"

Great one more thing to uninstall on a new computer. Is there a huge need to pre-install anything other than the operating system on a computer? It started with all the different dial-up internet providers. If we want it we will download it and install it.

[55Ross]

Why not test a real browser like http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/ that is fast small & safe? Yes to letting me install what I want when I get a new machine. www.metal-wear.com

[scollum-omps]

well said. when you buy a computer now you end up getting trial internet dial ups and trial friewalls and trial games shotcuts to image hosting sites then more shortcuts in your desktop and in your system tray and start menue cant they jsut not mess about with it and give you what you want for once a pc not a pc that looks like its been used for the past 20 years by some old women that uses free trial software because they cant afford the real stuff... lol

[XXPepper]

Dude: Buick was the "doctor's car". I think you're getting your automotive metaphor's mixed if you're comparing MSIE that way. In old time reputation Buick meant high performance with extra amenities. Maybe you're thinking of a Dodge Power Wagon or a Mack Truck or even an old International Harvester panel truck. Though none of those are fair either and none of them would arbitrarily drive themselves into a tree and stop running.

[twolf2919]

Isn't Chrome still in "beta" also? If so, why didn't the comparison include Firefox 3.1 beta (which has been available for at least a month now) or IE8 (if there is a beta)? I'm using FF 3.1beta and, once you manually enable the new JavaScript engine via the config screen, it blows the door off Firefox 3.0. I suspect, it would manage to beat Chrome as well...without sacrificing compatibility (does Chrome support Java yet? How about other plugins?)

So the whole thing seems like an apples-to-oranges comparison.

[hornerea]

Yup, Chrome is the fastest browser I have ever used!!!!

I get to the "Access is Denied" to the executable faster than with any program I have ever used.

I have NEVER succeeded in viewing a web page with Chrome. So, the response time I am seeing is INFINITE.

[drommel]

I'm replying to your comment using Chrome.

If you were trying to make a point, I think it's been lost in your comment showing how little you know about the intarwebs.

[Hamlet72]

Completely disagree with the article. IE is still my preferred choice. Chrome? Are you kidding me? It's beta software. It will catch up at some point, but IE is still the best. Not everything Google puts out turns to gold. Seems like a very biased article to me.

On a base install, without any modifications.....IE works the best hands down. And that is the way most people use it. No one wants to modify "enable javascript" engine. The browser should just work out of the box.

[tacit]

Now if only IE rendered CSS correctly, so that you could reliably expect to see what the Web designers intended.

I know, I'm dreaming. But if you gotta dream, dream big! An end to world hunger, peace throughout the globe, and a version of Internet Explorer that renders CSS correctly...these are my dreams.

[FargoUT]

You are right -- not everything Google puts out turns to gold. They've had several failures that are now defunct. The good stuff sticks around while the bad gets closed down. But I've used Google Chrome and it is super-fast. My biggest annoyance is how it handles pop-up windows. Mozilla has had far more experience, and their handling of pop-up windows are superior to any other.

If Google Chrome can continue being improved, it could easily become my primary browser. If they would only fix the pop-up handler. I know I'm nitpicking, but it can become quite obnoxious. It's probably not even Google's fault--probably just poor web programming. But whatever, all I know is that some chat interfaces work great in Firefox and poorly in Chrome.

That being said, go Google! Nice first attempt at a browser! The simplicity and speed is what makes it such a nice experience. Hopefully they don't screw that up in attempting to satiate users who want a billion extensions and themes!

[john55440]

How long will it be before Google decides to promote Chrome by cutting off Firefox's funding?

Big Brother Google's primary business is the collection of personal information for advertising purposes. The company gives me the creeps, and I don't want any of their software on my computer.

BTW, compared to IE7, Firefox has a clunky, old fashioned, interface.

[soutrik93]

also unlike ie7, you can change that interface into almost anything you want

[asa_dotzler]

>How long will it be before Google decides to promote Chrome by cutting off Firefox's funding?

Google doesn't "fund" Firefox in the way that you seem to think they do.

Mozilla and Google have a contractual relationship where Google pays Mozilla for Firefox for search traffic. That contract has already been renewed multiple times and comes up again in 3 years so it's really not an issue any time soon.

I wouldn't be surprised if I see Dell put Chrome on as a pre-installed piece of software, being that they already have a partnership with Google.

I don't understand the OEM market at times. Do they think they are really making a lot of money when company X pays the OEM to pre-install a piece of crapware on a computer? Then, the Computer OEM has to support that software...

To me, if computer manufacturers would just install a base install of Windows, and MAYBE some CD Burning software, and call it quits there, they could lower their support costs.

[renGek]

As a programmer....UGH. yet another browser I have to test against. While 98% of my customer base are IE/firefox users which helps, its those 2% that bugs the crap out of me. Doesn't help that I have an apple fanboy manager in the office who insist that we spend 50% of our development effort to make our apps equally compatible to safari. Thats just more development time dedicated that I shouldn't need to. Although, I tend to ignore the manager most of the time anyway since he just doesn't know any better. While I do like firefox and chrome I wouldn't be too unhappy if only 1 of them was popular.

[tacit]

If you do good, solid, standards-based development, you don't *need* to spend extra time making your pages and Web apps work on Safari and other standards-compliant browsers.

Start from the beginning with solid design and you'll save a lot of time, I promise.

[tm_anon]

I mentioned in a prior article a better way to go about things, helps the consumers a lot more than just allowing google to install it's really fast way not to browse the internet. Allow the customer full customization of their computers software. Since browsers are already available online free for download, that part's a no brainer, then just charge the customer what it costs for whatever other software they choose that's compatible with their OS of choice and you end up with a happy customer who got exactly what he wanted and will come back time and again. Google and Microsoft might be paying for preinstalls, but if their software is getting in the way of what the customers want, they may do like I did and go somewhere else for their PC. I'm sure there are variables someone will argue would simply make this impossible, but take a look around. If you're buying a PC, you have the choice of Linux or Windows, if you're running Linux or Windows, you have your choice of Office Suites, including opensource and Microsoft Office, when running Windows, you have your choice of lots of antivirus programs, on either OS you have your choice of photo editing software as well as hundreds of other software choices including, but not limited to, Web Design software. It's a big world, the first hardware manufacturor to realize this will have a lot more customers paying smaller amounts for a better product, guaranteed to come back just because they get freedom to choose. And the best part, if the customer realizes there are choices out there, the products either have to get a lot better, which is great for the consumer in ways that simply allowing a preinstall of Chrome can never be, or a lot cheaper, again, consumer wins hands down. Once other companies pick this model up, then the consumer really wins. We would get to choose between the best hardware manufacturors, pay less since we could choose the best possible products for our needs with choices of freeware, open source, payware at our fingertips, and end up with a more satisfying product, sure to bring us to a point where we might actually care about what's new in the tech industry again.

[amigosito]

In my experience Chrome is indeed the fastest browser around today...on Windows. Safari still blows Firefox away on Mac OS X.

Apple's entries in the Windows market (iTunes, QuickTime, Safari) simply do not do justice to the performance you get by running these apps on their native platform. I'd be interested to see a comparison of Chrome on Windows XP/Vista vs. Safari on Mac OS X 10.5.

[asa_dotzler]

Matt, the article you're referencing is so busted in so many ways that I just don't know where to start.

I decided against responding over there when I realized that the author was coming at it from such a deep well of confusion that it wouldn't be worth my time.

He believes that Firefox is going to include V8 ("Chrome's winning margin is huge, even though Firefox 3.04, Opera and Safari have incorporated V8." and "We tested the version of Firefox (called Minefield) that does include the V8 code") and that IE8 will have SVG and canvas, ("IE8 will fix that [SVG and Canvas] compatibility issue, but as we noted, Microsoft's code isn't yet optimized.")

Throw that and the concluding statement "Based on our arbitrary score assignments, Google Chrome is the speed king" (yes, he really said "based on our arbitrary score assignments",) makes it a very, very long stretch to take anything he wrote seriously.

What he's done is actually the opposite of journalism. If you read his article, it makes you quite a bit _less_ knowledgeable about the topic he's trying to cover. Tech journalism and reporting shouldn't make people less smart when they read it.

Please don't help someone so wrong to spread that kind of misinformation.

- A

[jrepenning]

> Microsoft needs to step up--big time--with IE 8

What, you mean *this* IE 8?

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/03/17.html

[loose_screw]

I love Chrome!

(sent from my Chrome browser :)

[forever4now]

I am a satisfied Firefox user, but I still think it is great what Google is doing with Chrome. They are pushing browser performance to new heights and I am sure Firefox will do everything possible to keep pace with them.

From what I have read, some users are claiming that Gmail performs at near desktop speeds using Chrome. If that is true, other web applications will eventually aspire to that as well making platform-specific application development (Windows/Linux/OS X) somewhat a thing of the past.

Keep up the good work Google! Microsoft would never have done it. They seem to fall asleep every time they get monopoly share in anything.

[AXG]

Try opening 10 tabs on startup in FF or Chrome and then you will know how slow they are. Opera is fastest. No one uses Opera so no one knows. Use it once, open 10 tabs at startup and you will know what fast means. Opera has its shortcomings like few sites are not compatible with Opera. For such sites I use IE. I used FF for several years before giving it up in favor of Opera.

[Efrow]

Opera rocks!!! It has my vote hands down!

[jsterling777]

tn_anon -- do you know how to do paragraphs? It's hard to read 40-50 lines without a break. I gave up.

[55Ross]

Why not test a real browser like http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/ that is fast small & safe? Yes to letting me install what I want when I get a new machine. www.metal-wear.com

[AppleSuxLeo]

I pasted the URL of that Extreme Tech article showing Chrome was at least 10x faster than Safari and all others over a week ago. Just one example of showing how Jobs is a liar.