Plug-In Performance: Flash, Java, Silverlight
Composite Scoring
The Flash, Java, and Silverlight composites are achieved by averaging five RIABench tests for each plug-in: Primetest, Prime Factorization, MD5 Hashing, Random Key Generator, and Run-length Encoding. All five RIABench tests are scored in milliseconds.
Flash
Safari holds on to a slight lead with an average 185 ms while IE9, Firefox 13, and Opera 12 are in a practical tie for second place. Chrome once again earns a last-place in Flash performance.
Java
Opera takes a shaky lead in Java performance with a score of 253 milliseconds, followed closely by Firefox in second place. Chrome and IE9 share third place, tying at 262 milliseconds. Safari is the only browser breaking from the pack, taking almost 100 ms more and finishing in a distant last-place.
Silverlight
Opera again narrowly beats the competition at 115 ms, followed by IE9 in second place. Chrome and Firefox tie for third, while Safari again takes last place, though not as far behind as in the Java tests. The Silverlight scores are essentially a wash, with all browsers performing practically the same.
Drill Downs
The charts below contain the detailed view of each RIABench test for Flash, Java, and Silverlight.
The Flash scores are all pretty close, with Chrome's built-in Flash player generally falling behind, and Safari pulling ahead in the Run-length Encoding test. With the exception of Safari's poor showing in Run-length Encoding, the Java scores are essentially the same between browsers. The Silverlight scores are all basically the same.