Performance Benchmarks: HTML5
JSGameBench
The placing in Windows 7 remains the same as what we saw in WBGP5. Mozilla Firefox again demolishes the competition in the Facebook JSGameBench test, retaining first place. IE9 also holds onto its solid second-place finish. Chrome lands in a distant third, with Safari and Opera even further behind in fourth and fifth (respectively).
In OS X, there is no Internet Explorer. Also, Chrome and Firefox for Mac lack HTML5 hardware acceleration. But Safari includes it, making it the winner, as well as the only viable HTML5 hardware-accelerated option for Mac OS X. Chrome 13 finishes a distant second, followed by Firefox 6. Opera, the only Web browser with absolutely no HTML5 hardware acceleration support, predictably ends up in last place.
GUIMark 2 HTML5
The chart below shows how each of the five Web browsers performs in the three GUIMark2 HTML tests running in Window 7.
This chart has the same data, but for the four Mac OS X Lion browsers.
The final chart is our cross-platform composite score, achieved by averaging the results of the three GUIMark2 HTML5 tests.
The Windows 7 placing in the GUIMark2 composite score remains mostly the same as what we saw in WBGP5. Firefox 6 is again the Windows 7 winner, followed by IE9 at two frames per second. Chrome 13 is still in third place, 10 FPS behind the leader. This time, Safari 5.1 is barely ahead of Opera in fourth place, both at just over 30 FPS.
Safari on OS X earns the highest score in our competition, archiving just under 50 FPS. Firefox 6 coasts into second place at over 32 FPS, while Opera steals third with just under 30 FPS. Chrome 13 places last on OS X, barely over 26 FPS.
Asteroids HTML5 Canvas 2D
On Windows, Internet Explorer 9 remains top dog in the Asteroids HTML5 Canvas 2D benchmark. Safari 5.1 offers a marked improvement over 5.05 in this test, moving from fourth all the way up to second place. Google's browser falls close behind Apple's in third, while Opera trails in fourth, and Firefox 6 brings up the rear with a more pitiful sub-30 FPS score.
Once again, the highest score in this benchmark occurs on OS X. Safari 5.1 obliterates the other Web browsers, earning just shy of 80 FPS. Second place on OS X goes to Opera 11.50, with 36 FPS. Third place goes to Chrome with 33 FPS, while Firefox 6 again comes up short at 22 FPS.
Safari running on OS X really gives Firefox and IE9 on Windows 7 a run for their money with regard to HTML5 performance.
