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

By Adam Overa
published

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!

Tom's Hardware Exclusive: Peacekeeper 2.0

We've been using Peacekeeper in the Web Browser Grand Prix since day one. To coincide with the publication of Web Browser Grand Prix 7, Futuremark, the creators of popular benchmarks like PCMark and 3DMark are releasing an open beta of the new and improved Peacekeeper.

Full Metal Geek

If you've used Peacekeeper in the past, you may have noticed its tagline: The Browser Benchmark. The upcoming version will be known as The Universal Browser Test. While most other companies, projects, and individuals are creating new benchmarks specifically for the burgeoning mobile computing sector, Futuremark set out to create one online benchmark that can run on anything. The new Peacekeeper is designed to operate in any browser and on any device. From desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones. Compare your Core i7 to your iPhone 4, or compare the Galaxy Tab to the MacBook Air.

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Peacekeeper Beta on IE9 in Windows 7
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Peacekeeper Beta on Chromium in Kubuntu Linux

This next-generation version covers all areas of testing that the current Peacekeeper handles, along with the latest HTML5 standards and features. Support for video codecs like H.264, Theora, and WebM are checked. WebGL and canvas also appear in the lineup.

Another nice feature Futuremark added to the new Peacekeeper is a detailed breakdown of the individual test results contained in the benchmark.

The result detail in the Peacekeeper beta

We decided to take the Peacekeeper beta for a spin on our Web Browser Grand Prix 7 test system. Google Chrome 14, Mozilla Firefox 7, Microsoft Internet Explorer 9, and Opera 11.51 all worked as expected. Unfortunately, Apple Safari 5.1 did not. Since Peacekeeper 2.0 is still a beta release, we won't hold that against either Apple or Futuremark.

Fortunately, we have a Hackintosh, and the new Peacekeeper beta works just fine on Safari for OS X. The chart below contains the results of our expeditionary benchmarks.

Obviously, we won't be tallying these results into the analysis tables of this article; this chart is just for fun. Anyone else interested in checking out the new open beta of the upcoming Peacekeeper benchmark can head on over there right now!

Adam Overa
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