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

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Three major released have landed since our last impromptu Web Browser Grand Prix (WBGP4): Chrome 12, Firefox 5, and Opera 11.50. Can Chrome or Opera regain the WBGP championship? Will Mozilla Firefox ever overtake Microsoft's IE9 in the rankings?

The Lineup

When we published the first Web Browser Grand Prix back in March of 2010 (Web Browser Grand Prix: The Top Five, Tested And Ranked), we really hit the ground running and got right to the testing. It occurred to us that we never really gave an overview of each browser; we just assumed (probably justly so) that everyone was already familiar with the top five Web browsers. We didn't foresee how popular this series was going to become and the number of more mainstream folks (non-geeks) who would tune in. So, we figured it's about time that we properly introduced the contenders. Feel free to grab the latest version of the Web browsers from our new downloads section with the links in the table below.

ChromeVendor:GoogleDebut:9/02/2008Current Version:12Layout Engine:WebKitJavaScript Engine:V8Supported Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOSWBGP Wins:2 (WBGP1 and WBGP2: Linux)Download Chrome!

FirefoxVendor:MozillaDebut:11/09/2004Current Version:5Layout Engine:Gecko 2.0JavaScript Engine:JagerMonkeySupported Platforms:Windows, Mac, LinuxWBGP Wins:NoneDownload Firefox!

Internet ExplorerVendor:MicrosoftDebut:8/16/1995Current Version9Layout Engine:TridentJavaScript Engine:Chakra Supported Platforms:Windows (Vista and 7)WBGP Wins:2 (WBGP3 and WBGP4)Download Internet Explorer!

OperaVendor:Opera SoftwareDebut:12/09/1996Current Version:11.50Layout Engine:PrestoJavaScript Engine:CarakanSupported Platforms:Windows, Mac, LinuxWBGP Wins:1 (WBGP2)Download Opera!

SafariVendor:AppleDebut:1/07/2003Current Version:5.05Layout Engine:WebKitJavaScript Engine:NitroSupported Platforms:WIndows, MacWBGP Wins:NoneDownload Safari!

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102 Comments Comment from the forums
  • adampower
    Wow, it seems like I upgrade my browsers every week.
    Reply
  • somehow it seems that firefox is focussing more on benchmarks rather than actual real world usage.
    Reply
  • opera keeps impressing me throughout the WBGP
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    Now if just Google would release a 64-bit Chrome browser.
    Reply
  • Tamz_msc
    First of all, this is the most thorough WBGP yet.
    somehow it seems that firefox is focussing more on benchmarks rather than actual real world usage.
    I don't think so - proper page loads and battery life are important considerations.

    I agree that Mozilla did not do a right thing in copying Chrome's release cycle, but at least they're trying - for example, they're trying hard in bringing down memory usage by increasing the garbage collection frequency(check this out in the Aurora and Nightly builds).

    WBGP is basically a test of speed, and Chrome may have won in that, but Firefox is not far behind. I can wait for two or three seconds for my page to load. You can easily bring down the page load times by using addons like AdBlock Plus.

    Even with the faster release cycle, this article clearly states that Firefox is still the most stable browser. Many people say that they've had numerous crashes, but its something wrong with their drivers or OS - I have not had a single crash since FF 4.0 beta 5 (or 7?), when they introduced hardware acceleration for the first time.

    Firefox remains the most customizable browser, while Opera has the most number of features out-of-the-box.

    So overall, according to me Firefox>=Opera>Chrome>IE 9> Safari.
    Reply
  • cadder
    Will you guys please investigate the SECURITY of each browser? I would use the one that is most secure even if it is slowest.
    Reply
  • Tamz_msc
    9516697 said:
    Will you guys please investigate the SECURITY of each browser? I would use the one that is most secure even if it is slowest.
    That's easy: FF+AdBlock Plus+ NoScript+Ghostery+BrowserProtect
    Reply
  • ChiefTexas_82
    IE 9 is a speed demon? I droped IE because it started running like ****. I blame loading too many side programs after years on the web. So I wanted to try Chrome or Firefox. Being a Google fan already, I tried Chrome. So far it leaves my old IE8 in the dust. Except for a certain bug, I would say it has been an improvement in almost every way.
    Reply
  • ChiefTexas_82
    I don't like how Nvidia's GPU auto-detect doesn't work on chrome.
    Reply
  • thartist
    Damn, Opera has it's flaws but it's nonetheless the one that does one thing best: browsing.
    Reply