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Web Browser Grand Prix 7: Firefox 7, Chrome 14, Opera 11.51

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Mozilla released the hotly-anticipated Firefox 7 two days ago. Does it deliver on the promise of speed and memory improvements? Does Firefox 7 have what it takes to dethrone current Web Browser Grand Prix champion, Google Chrome? Read on to find out!

The Crowning Of A Champion

In the closest conclusion this series has ever seen, Mozilla is finally able to take the crown, earning its first Web Browser Grand Prix championship with Firefox 7. Although Firefox has two fewer wins than Chrome 14, Mozilla's browser manages to earn three more strong finishes than Chrome, which we consider sealing the deal, if by only a hair.

Enjoy it while you can Firefox fans; Google doesn't like to play second fiddle for very long. In fact, we wouldn't be one bit surprised if a "minor" update that happens to contain a performance game-changer is pushed to Chrome within days (or hours) of this publication.

Chrome 14 obviously places second; no surprise there. The big surprise is our third-place finisher. It's not Internet Explorer 9! Rather, Opera finally breaks out of fourth place and grabs the bronze medal. IE9 simply lost too many times, allowing Opera and its "minor" .01 update to swoop in for the kill.

Alas, Safari places last yet again. Safari for Windows, that is. If Web Browser Grand Prix VI: Firefox 6, Chrome 13, Mac OS X Lion taught us anything, it's that the rules of physics, common sense, and everything else you hold dear don't apply on Apple's own OS X platform. Over there, Safari is still king.

There you have it folks, another Web Browser Grand Prix in the bag. Stay tuned to Tom's Hardware for more. We have a few special twists up our sleeves for Web Browser Grand Prix 8 and beyond.

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131 Comments Comment from the forums
  • gerchokas
    Well done Mozilla!
    Now they could change their famous icon to a more minimalist/modern style and we're done. Speedy AND classy, just like a fire fox.
    Reply
  • shiftmx112
    Enjoy it while you can Firefox fans

    Indeed. I have been quite content with FF8 though.
    Reply
  • soccerdocks
    Until another browser beats Chrome in the speed/performance benchmarks I'm sticking with it.
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    im sticking with IE, its perfectly fast enough and stable and why should I have to install another browser when it works perfectly fine?
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    I'm on FF10. :D Nightly 64-bit!
    Reply
  • compton
    I have to say, I do really like chrome. I stopped using Firefox as much one I tried the chrome beta, and now I use IE9 and chrome all the time. I used opera for a while, but Netflix streaming doesn't work with it, nor do many other sites I use.

    Now that IE is good again, I can't fault anyone for using it in lieu of the others.
    Reply
  • makaveli316
    "Until another browser beats Chrome in the speed/performance benchmarks I'm sticking with it."

    lol people still think they can feel the difference in terms of speed in real world performance and there's still people that doesn't use a browser for their needs and preferences, but just because they have seen some silly benchmark.
    Ridiculous. I bet those are the same people that are always complaining in the forums about crashes, viruses and blue screens.
    Reply
  • killik
    Even better yet,if you use FF7 with the MemoryFox addon,Firefox simply obliterates the competition.try it for yourself.
    Reply
  • killik
    Even better yet,if you use FF7 with the MemoryFox addon,Firefox simply obliterates the competition in the memory management department.try it for yourself.
    Reply
  • frostmachine
    I noticed firefox will use progressively more memory. Even if it's just refreshing the same pages. I use firefox, opera n chrome, keeping them open 24hr/day. It can go from intial 100mb to over 500mb. I don't see this in the other browsers.
    Reply