Download the Tom's Hardware App from the App Store
The reference for current tech news
Yes No
Signin with

Reliability Benchmarks: Proper Page Loads

by

Proper Page Loads

Opera manages to come out on top for page loading reliability on both Windows and OS X. Strangely, Safari 5.1 for Windows comes in second, while it loses big time on its native platform. Firefox 6 grabs second for OS X and third for Windows, representing a major drop from Firefox 5. Google comes in second-to-last on the Microsoft and Apple ecosystems. Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 comes in dead last on its one and only supported platform, and manages to have the worst overall reliability.

Like the memory testing, reliability appears to be better on Windows 7 than Mac OS X Lion across the board.

Share:
92
Comments
X
Submit

Comments
ne0nguy 08/29/2011 4:22 AM
Hide
-5+

The first chart says "higher is better" for the load time

adamovera 08/29/2011 4:29 AM
Hide
-2+

ne0nguy :
The first chart says "higher is better" for the load time


thank you, workin' on it

SteelCity1981 08/29/2011 5:14 AM
Hide
-8+

Chrome is the best browser out there right now. While FireFox maybe more popular then Chrome is, Chrome has shown why it is the best browser out today. If you haven't used Chrome yet it's def worth a look.

soccerdocks 08/29/2011 5:14 AM
Hide
-0+

The reader function in safari actually looks really nice. Although I'd never use Safari on principle. I hope other browsers implement a similar function.

mayankleoboy1 08/29/2011 5:21 AM
Hide
-0+

why does firefox(6/8/9) performa so horribly on the IE9 maze solover test?
chrome13 completely obliterats it.

and firefox 8/9 are still a memory hog.
not really surprised by poor show of ie9. moat updates it gets are "security updates".

tofu2go 08/29/2011 5:50 AM
Show
anonymous 08/29/2011 6:00 AM
Hide
-2+

@soccerdocks

Yeah? And exactly what principle would that be?

andy5174 08/29/2011 6:09 AM
Show
kartu 08/29/2011 6:34 AM
Hide
-0+

Quote :Firefox 6 comes in third for both OSes, representing a major drop from Firefox 5.

According to the graphic on "Reliability Benchmarks: Proper Page Loads" on MacOS Firefox is actually second, not third.

LaloFG 08/29/2011 6:37 AM
Hide
-2+

I keep Opera, more memory used and time to load pages is nothing when it load pages correctly; and the feeling in its interface is the greater.

noob2222 08/29/2011 6:53 AM
Hide
-0+

while these articles are entertaining, giving straight points skews the results a bit IMO. I think it would give more insight to give percentages in the analysis tables rather than just ranking them. After all, giving 1 pt for 5% better result out of the 5 is 20%, kinda throws off actual performance.

adamovera 08/29/2011 6:57 AM
Hide
-1+

kartu :
According to the graphic on "Reliability Benchmarks: Proper Page Loads" on MacOS Firefox is actually second, not third.


thank you, workin' on it

anonymous 08/29/2011 8:09 AM
Hide
-7+

On OSX browser 'vendors' are denied access to certain os hooks that would make their browsers better than they are.

yankeeDDL 08/29/2011 8:14 AM
Hide
-1+

Nice overview: thank you.
These "browser" GP are getting more and more complete and the're always very interesting.
I have to say, I am a bit surprised to see FF being so close to Chrome now: kudos to Mozilla.
I have been using FF since 1.0 and only recently coupled it with Chrome (it is just convenient for me to have 2 completely different setups).
FF 7.0 should have a significant boost in memory efficiency: if everything else stays the same, we´ll have a new champion ...
But if anythin is clear from these reviews, is that nothing stays the same for very long in the browser´s domain (well, except IE).
Looking forward to GP7, whenever that will be.

anonymous 08/29/2011 8:40 AM
Hide
-5+

Adam, you should have mentioned in the end that even if Safari won on OSX, the victory is a pyrrhic one as OSX lacks in Java and Silverlight plugin performance; OSX Lion is also very poor at system memory management and reliability.

You should've put more emphasis on the actual scores and performances in tests rather than count the times when certain browsers placed 1st. Thus a browser that had a small advantage in more and minor tests and at the same time severe handicaps in more important but fewer tests would seem better, when technically it is not. Suggestion: tie all the candidates when the differences between them in a certain test are less than a single digit percent. Good article anyway.

cookoy 08/29/2011 9:35 AM
Hide
-9+

Quote :Mac OS X is capable of providing better results than Windows 7 in Flash, HTML5, WebGL, and the ever-important page load times.


And to think Apple hates Flash...

damasvara 08/29/2011 9:54 AM
Hide
-0+

Tried Chrome, but somehow it doesn't behave the way I wanted. Browsing pages is faster with Firefox on 384 kbps internet. Makes me wonder...

adamovera 08/29/2011 10:34 AM
Hide
-0+

noob2222 :
while these articles are entertaining, giving straight points skews the results a bit IMO. I think it would give more insight to give percentages in the analysis tables rather than just ranking them. After all, giving 1 pt for 5% better result out of the 5 is 20%, kinda throws off actual performance.


There are no points in the analysis tables. They simply list how each browser rates per category of testing. The 'Strong' part of the table was added a long time ago and it basically means that it's right up there with the winner in terms of performance. When we get a solid point-based scoring system figured out 'Winner' will only receive a minor boost above 'Strong', whereas 'Strong' will receive a significant boost above 'Acceptable', and 'Acceptable' above 'Weak'. We're not there yet, but we're getting closer with every WBGP. The composite tests are a BIG step in that direction, and the new benchmark rankings further lay the groundwork for a fair scoring system which accurately reflects scale.

adamovera 08/29/2011 10:51 AM
Hide
-0+

tgreader :
Adam, you should have mentioned in the end that even if Safari won on OSX, the victory is a pyrrhic one as OSX lacks in Java and Silverlight plugin performance; OSX Lion is also very poor at system memory management and reliability.You should've put more emphasis on the actual scores and performances in tests rather than count the times when certain browsers placed 1st. Thus a browser that had a small advantage in more and minor tests and at the same time severe handicaps in more important but fewer tests would seem better, when technically it is not. Suggestion: tie all the candidates when the differences between them in a certain test are less than a single digit percent. Good article anyway.


The analysis tables were created to balance the raw placing tables. The problem with what you're saying is that you would have to decide which categories are more important than others. Is JavaScript more important than CSS? Is HTML5 more important than Flash? This is going to depend on who you ask. People who only watch Netflix with an HTPC will put mega emphasis on Silverlight perf, whereas the chronic YouTuber will be more concerned with Flash, and devs are going to gravitate towards standards conformance. Ranking benchmarks based on the importance of what they test isn't a one-size-fits-all type of thing with Web browsers. As far as your other suggestion, dealing with practical ties, this is something we definitely want to look into moving forward. Thanks!

See more

Best offers

All about Software

Newsletters


OK