Web Browser Grand Prix VIII: Chrome 16, Firefox 9, And Mac OS X

Features
By Adam Overa
published

Back in August, Mozilla took the WBGP crown with Firefox 7. Can Firefox 9 retain that title? And how are the top Web browsers doing in Mac OS X? We used a Hackintosh last time. This time, we're testing on the world's first Ultrabook, the MacBook Air.

HTML5 Performance Benchmarks

Facebook JSGameBench 4.1

Firefox 9 running under Windows 7 is able to pull off another significant win in Facebook's JSGameBench test, followed by Internet Explorer. Chrome places a distant third with a sub-500 score. Safari fills fourth place at close to 250 points, while Opera trails far behind with about 150 points.

The tables turn in OS X, as Safari achieves the high score of nearly 1400 points. Chrome moves up to second place, earning about 50 more points than its Windows version. Firefox drops dramatically to third place with 266 points, a mere sixth of its showing in Windows 7. Opera again brings up the rear, not even earning 100 points.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
GUIMark 2 HTML5

As a reminder, we use the single-pixel variant of the HTML vector charting test instead of the original two-pixel version due to unusually low scores achieved by WebKit-based browsers.

Windows 7 Detail View

Mac OS X Detail View

Cross-Platform Composite View

Firefox takes the lead in the Windows 7 GUIMark 2 HTML5 tests with a fantastic score of 47 FPS. IE9 earns second place at 44 FPS, while Chrome pulls in 37.5 FPS to take third. Safari and Opera both earn scores in the 28 FPS range to place fourth and fifth, respectively.

Safari is the first-place finisher in Mac OS X, achieving 45 FPS. Firefox places second with 28 FPS, and Opera is close behind with 27 FPS. Chrome brings up the rear with only 24.5 frames per second.

Asteroids HTML5 Canvas 2D

IE9 tops the Windows 7 charts in the Asteroids HTML5 Canvas 2D and JavaScript benchmark at 55 FPS. Safari and Chrome tie for second place with 47 FPS each. Opera places a respectable third, while Firefox again flails behind the pack, scoring only 21 FPS.

In OS X, it's Safari that earns the highest score with 54.5 FPS. Opera moves to second place with 38 FPS, and Chrome takes third with 35 FPS. Firefox remains in last place, achieving two frames per second more than its Windows showing. 

Adam Overa
152 Comments Comment from the forums
  • twztechman
    Been using Firefox for years - it works best for me.
    Reply
  • shiftmx112
    This makes it worth putting up with the constant updates on Aurora. :)
    Reply
  • The best part is I'm quite sure that this is using an out of the box build. Using a PGO compiled nighlty build, with about:config properly configured, and addons like Adblock/NoScript blocking things from ever loading Firefox is significantly faster than these benchmarks state.
    Reply
  • frost_fenix
    I have use firefox and chrome interchangeably for a few years now. I enjoy chromes streamlined design but have recently discovered the noscript addon for Firefox and have since favored Firefox. I have also found Firefox to be more compatable with school webpages and application pages. Still either firefox or chrome is better than IE.
    Reply
  • pharoahhalfdead
    Good point Stoof. I have IE9 and the newest FF, and with the FF add ons, it blows IE out of the water. The majority of IE pages like yahoo video links, boxingscene etc take 6 or more seconds to load, whereas FF is only a fraction of the time.

    I think add ons are much easier to find with FF, and there seems to be a wider variety. Then again I do realize this article wasn't about browsers with add ons.
    Reply
  • hardcore_gamer
    The only one thing I hate about firefox is that it takes a lot of time to launch.
    Reply
  • adamovera
    stoofThe best part is I'm quite sure that this is using an out of the box build. Using a PGO compiled nighlty build, with about:config properly configured, and addons like Adblock/NoScript blocking things from ever loading Firefox is significantly faster than these benchmarks state.Yes, we're using everything stock. There is no one-size-fits-all combination of plug-ins to standardize on, and every browser might not have the exact same plugins available. So that throws out a fair comparison between browsers - wouldn't work for the WBGP. Perhaps an article concentrating specifically on Firefox (or another Web browser) with and without various plug-ins would clear that up?
    Reply
  • Please use Firefox's latest logo, the one with the shiny orb in Mozilla's press kit! The one they're using now is the old one. http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/brand/identity/
    Reply
  • nevertell
    Chrome is the easiest to use if you've got lots of tabs open. Scrolling through them with mouse is a breeze and tab management is just excellent.
    Reply
  • soccerdocks
    frost_fenix. I enjoy chromes streamlined design but have recently discovered the noscript addon for Firefox and have since favored Firefox.
    Why do people seem to forget Chrome has this built in. All you have to do is go into the options menu and disable JavaScript.
    Reply