JavaScript And DOM Performance
JavaScript
We say a long overdue goodbye to SunSpider in this installment. Kraken also gets the boot, though it is being replaced by Rightware's Browsermark 2.0 (the first version was mobile-only). We're also vetoing the inclusion of Google's Octane for the very same reason that V8 is no longer in the Grand Prix: Chrome's margin of victory is contrary, and potentially crippling to the other JS results. RIABench and Futuremark's Peacekeeper remain, bringing our total number of JS tests to just three.
This benchmark has the browsers finishing in exactly the same order on both versions of Windows: Chrome, Opera, Firefox, IE10, IE9.
The charts below contain the results of the eight individual RIABench JavaScript tests.
Peacekeeper places Chrome in the lead on both platforms, followed by Opera. Firefox takes third in the newer version of Windows, while the Internet Explorers beat Mozilla's browser in Windows 7. Once again, both Opera and Firefox exhibit better scores in Windows 8.
Our newest JavaScript performance benchmark shows Chrome to be in a commanding lead, followed by Opera on Windows 7 and Firefox in Windows 8; the browsers reverse positions in third place. IE9 actually beats IE10 in this test, though not by very much. Firefox yet again favors Windows 8.
DOM
The DOM Core tests in Mozilla's Dromaeo benchmark still serve as our sole DOM test, although now it is given even weight to the three JavaScript tests in our JS/DOM composite score.
The placing order is the same for both OSes: Chrome, followed closely by Firefox, and Opera in a distant third place. The IE duo falls to an even more distant fourth/fifth. Firefox again favors the newer Windows.
JavaScript/DOM Composite Score
This result is the geometric mean of the three JS tests and Dromaeo.
Chrome is the obvious winner in this category, with Firefox placing second, followed closely by Opera. IE10 takes fourth place, with its own predecessor placing last. It seems that Firefox's new IonMonkey JavaScript engine is unable to unseat Chrome from the JS throne.
Alright, now it's time to check out performance results for next-gen technologies like HTML5 and CSS3, followed by hardware acceleration.