Web Browser Grand Prix VIII: Chrome 16, Firefox 9, And Mac OS X

By Adam Overa
published

Back in August, Mozilla took the WBGP crown with Firefox 7. Can Firefox 9 retain that title? And how are the top Web browsers doing in Mac OS X? We used a Hackintosh last time. This time, we're testing on the world's first Ultrabook, the MacBook Air.

Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, And Safari

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Web Browser Grand Prix Champions

The table below lists all of the previous Web Browser Grand Prix winners, with links to their respective articles.

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Web Browser Grand PrixChampion
Web Browser Grand Prix: The Top Five, Tested And Ranked

Web Browser Grand Prix 2: The Top Five Tested And Ranked

Web Browser Grand Prix 2: Running The Linux Circuit

Web Browser Grand Prix 3:  IE9 Enters The Race

Web Browser Grand Prix 4: Firefox 4 Goes Final

Web Browser Grand Prix 5: Opera 11.50, Firefox 5, And Chrome 12

Web Browser Grand Prix VI: Firefox 6, Chrome 13, Mac OS X LionWeb Browser Grand Prix 7: Firefox 7, Chrome 14, Opera 11.51

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Web Browser Grand Prix 7 Contenders

ChromeVendor:GoogleDebut:9/02/2008Current Version:16Layout Engine:WebKitJavaScript Engine:V8Supported Platforms:Windows, Mac, LinuxHTML5 Hardware Acceleration:NoWebGL:YesWBGP Wins:4Download Chrome!

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Chrome 16 on Windows 7

FirefoxVendor:MozillaDebut:11/09/2004Current Version:9Layout Engine:Gecko 2.0JavaScript Engine:JaegerMonkeySupported Platforms:Windows, Mac, LinuxHTML Hardware Acceleration:YesWebGL:YesWBGP Wins:1Download Firefox!

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Firefox 9 on Windows 7

Internet ExplorerVendor:MicrosoftDebut:8/16/1995Current Version:9Layout Engine:TridentJavaScript Engine:ChakraSupported Platforms:Windows (Vista and 7)HTML5 Hardware Acceleration:YesWebGL:NoWBGP Wins:2Download Internet Explorer!

OperaVendor:Opera SoftwareDebut:12/09/1996Current Version:11.60Layout Engine:PrestoJavaScript Engine:CarakanSupported Platforms:Windows, Mac, LinuxHTML5 Hardware Acceleration:NoWebGL:NoWBGP Wins:1Download Opera!

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Opera 11.60 on Windows 7

SafariVendor:AppleDebut:1/07/2003Current Version:5.1.2Layout Engine:WebKit 2JavaScript Engine:NitroSupported Platforms:Windows, MacHTML5 Hardware Acceleration:Mac-onlyWebGL:NoWBGP Wins:1Download Safari!

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Safari 5.1.2 on Windows 7

This article represents the biggest departure from our traditional WBGP equipment since we introduced the Core i5 system in Web Browser Grand Prix 3: IE9 Enters The Race, so let's take a look at the platforms in question.

Adam Overa
152 Comments Comment from the forums
  • twztechman
    Been using Firefox for years - it works best for me.
    Reply
  • shiftmx112
    This makes it worth putting up with the constant updates on Aurora. :)
    Reply
  • The best part is I'm quite sure that this is using an out of the box build. Using a PGO compiled nighlty build, with about:config properly configured, and addons like Adblock/NoScript blocking things from ever loading Firefox is significantly faster than these benchmarks state.
    Reply
  • frost_fenix
    I have use firefox and chrome interchangeably for a few years now. I enjoy chromes streamlined design but have recently discovered the noscript addon for Firefox and have since favored Firefox. I have also found Firefox to be more compatable with school webpages and application pages. Still either firefox or chrome is better than IE.
    Reply
  • pharoahhalfdead
    Good point Stoof. I have IE9 and the newest FF, and with the FF add ons, it blows IE out of the water. The majority of IE pages like yahoo video links, boxingscene etc take 6 or more seconds to load, whereas FF is only a fraction of the time.

    I think add ons are much easier to find with FF, and there seems to be a wider variety. Then again I do realize this article wasn't about browsers with add ons.
    Reply
  • hardcore_gamer
    The only one thing I hate about firefox is that it takes a lot of time to launch.
    Reply
  • adamovera
    stoofThe best part is I'm quite sure that this is using an out of the box build. Using a PGO compiled nighlty build, with about:config properly configured, and addons like Adblock/NoScript blocking things from ever loading Firefox is significantly faster than these benchmarks state.Yes, we're using everything stock. There is no one-size-fits-all combination of plug-ins to standardize on, and every browser might not have the exact same plugins available. So that throws out a fair comparison between browsers - wouldn't work for the WBGP. Perhaps an article concentrating specifically on Firefox (or another Web browser) with and without various plug-ins would clear that up?
    Reply
  • Please use Firefox's latest logo, the one with the shiny orb in Mozilla's press kit! The one they're using now is the old one. http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/brand/identity/
    Reply
  • nevertell
    Chrome is the easiest to use if you've got lots of tabs open. Scrolling through them with mouse is a breeze and tab management is just excellent.
    Reply
  • soccerdocks
    frost_fenix. I enjoy chromes streamlined design but have recently discovered the noscript addon for Firefox and have since favored Firefox.
    Why do people seem to forget Chrome has this built in. All you have to do is go into the options menu and disable JavaScript.
    Reply