Web Browser Grand Prix: Chrome 18, Firefox 11, Windows XP

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Over the past two years, we've tested the top five Web browsers using modern PC hardware. But today, going against all that is sacred to the enthusiast crowd, we're breaking out an old beige box to bring you Web Browser Grand Prix: Windows XP Edition!

HTML5 Performance Benchmarks

JSGameBench

Safari pulls off a significant lead in Facebook's JSGameBench, beating second-place finisher Google Chrome by a score two times as high. Firefox earns third place with a result just one-quarter of Chrome's score. Opera places last, as IE8 did not run this test.

GUIMark 2 HTML5

Chrome pulls ahead in the GUIMark 2 HTML5 tests with an average score of eight frames per second. At just over seven frames per second, Safari takes second place. Opera earns 6.7 FPS to place third, followed by Firefox at 6.25 FPS. IE8 only manages to display an average of 2.5 FPS, succeeding only at running the Text Column portion of the test suite.

The chart below contains the individual test scores of each browser.

GUIMark 2 HTML5 Detail

Asteroids HTML5 Canvas 2D And JavaScript

Chrome takes the lead in Asteroids at nine frames per second, followed by Safari in second place and Opera in third. Firefox takes fourth place, and once again, IE8 cannot run this test.

The big winner in HTML5 performance is Chrome, followed by Safari, and then Opera. Firefox exhibits a notable disadvantage, and IE8 is clearly not even an option.