Test System Specs And Setup
Test System Specs
| OS | Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ @ 2.0 GHz (dual-core) |
| Motherboard | Biostar NF61S-M2 TE |
| Memory | 4 GB DDR2 @ 800MHz (2 x 2 GB) |
| Graphics | EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (896 MB GDDR3), PCI-E 1.0 |
| Storage | Western Digital WD2500KS 250GB SATA 3 GB/s, 7,200 RPM, 16MB Cache |
| Optical | Asus DVD-RW 1814-BLT-BULK-BG |
| Power Supply | Corsair TX750W (750W max) |
Web Browser Specs
| Browser | Version |
|---|---|
| Chrome | 5.0.375.99 |
| Firefox | 3.6.6 |
| Internet Explorer | 8.0.7600.16385 |
| Opera | 10.60 |
| Safari | 5 (7533.16) |
Additional Software
| Name | Version |
|---|---|
| Adobe Flash | 10.1 r53 |
| Oracle Java | 6.0.20 |
| Microsoft Silverlight | 4.0.50524.0 |
| Nvidia GeForce Driver | 8.17.12.5721 |
Setup
A clean installation of Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit was performed using the default partitioning scheme. All the available updates as of 6/16/2010 were applied, along with Nvidia driver package 257.21. We then installed the browsers, Flash, Java, and Silverlight. Finally, we switched off all power management and screen saver options, along with notifications. Before actually testing, we disabled automatic updates on browsers with that feature.
Methodology
A reboot was performed between each benchmark, per browser. The OS was allowed to “warm-up” before running a new test. Each time we finished benchmarking a browser, the cache was cleared and the system reset before beginning another benchmark or moving onto another browser. Most of the benchmarks were run for five iterations per browser, unless specifically mentioned otherwise.
Regarding Nontroppo
Thanks to the urging of our readers, we have retired all of the Nontroppo benchmarks from the previous Web Browser Grand Prix due to an incompatibility with WebKit-based browsers, such as Google Chrome and Apple Safari. The final load time reports completion before some of the elements on the page have loaded. This allows Chrome and Safari to illegitimately dominate every single Nontroppo test.
Regarding Internet Explorer
It has already been made clear from our last Grand Prix that Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) cannot really compete with the other top four Web browsers. We included IE8 again not to beat on it further, but to provide a graphic illustration of where the market share leader's performance stands. If IE didn't still dominate the landscape, it would have been removed.
Why not test the Internet Explorer 9 developer preview? Because I don't like to test products still in development. Even when I do, comparing them to stable products is not very informative. I'm sure that IE9 hits some high notes on several benchmarks, but IE9 isn't a finished product. It's not a release candidate or a beta; it's barely at alpha level. At this point, it's a window that houses a file menu and frame to view Web pages. No navigation bar or tabbed browsing. Not even an address bar. Let's face it, if you strip away essentially every bit of functionality from an app, that app will probably run faster. When IE9 is done, we'll be the first to benchmark it. Not before.
Editorial Disclosure
The author currently uses Google Chrome as his primary Web browser and Mozilla Firefox as a secondary. Bestofmedia uses Mozilla Firefox to interact with its Content Management System.
