Benchmark Results: Startup Times
We maintain the single-tab and eight-tab startup time test in order to compare against the Windows 7 benchmark scores, even though the eight-tab limit of Internet Explorer 8 is not a factor here.
With a single page to load, Chrome manages to come out on top, shaving a second and a half off of its Windows 7 startup time. Second-place finisher Firefox also starts up a fraction of a second faster in Ubuntu than Windows, but Opera's stellar Windows 7 startup time is almost doubled in Linux.
Eight Tabs
With a load of eight tabs, it's Mozilla Firefox that starts up first, more than six seconds sooner than it does in Window 7. Chrome comes in second, with a little over ten seconds. Opera places third, only one second behind Chrome. Google's browser again starts up faster in Linux than in Windows, but Opera's time is five seconds slower than its amazing six-second start in Windows 7.