Web browsers are one of the most important tools you have when it comes to online browsing. They help you navigate the web, find information, and stay connected. But how do you know which browser is best for you? There are a few things to consider when choosing a web browser. First, what type of internet connection do you have? Do you have a fast connection that can handle multiple tabs open at once or do you have a slower connection that can only handle one or two tabs? Second, what type of computer do you use? Do you have a desktop computer with an Intel or AMD processor and 4GB of RAM or do you use a laptop that doesn’t have as much memory? Third, what type of internet browser are you using currently? Are you using Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera Mini or another browser? Fourth and finally, how much money are you willing to spend on your web browser? Are there any free browsers out there that will work just as well as some of the more expensive browsers? Here are four free web browsers that should work on most computers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 10 (IE10), and Safari. Chrome is probably the most popular browser out there so it’s likely to be installed on most computers. IE10 is newer than both Firefox and Safari but it may not be installed on as many computers. Firefox and Safari both come in both free and paid versions. Internet Explorer 10 is only available in paid versions at this time. ..
Whether we’re comparing Firefox to Chrome or testing the real-world speed benefits of a 64-bit browser, I see a lot of comments saying one browser feels faster. When people compare web browsers, they don’t usually perform rigorous benchmarks.
Instead of trusting your gut and worrying about the placebo effect, use these browser benchmark tools to compare browsers. If you’ve seen news articles comparing web browser performance, this is usually all they do – run the browsers through these tests and create pretty graphs.
Peacekeeper
Peacekeeper is a browser benchmark created by Futuremark, developers of the popular 3DMark and PCMark benchmark tools for PC gaming and general PC usage. Unlike the other browser benchmark tools here, which each come from a specific camp of the browser wars, Peacekeeper was created by a neutral third-party, hence its name.
All you have to do is visit the Peacekeeper website and click the “Test your browser” button on the page to get started. You can benchmark any type of browser, including one running on a smartphone or tablet.
Peacekeeper runs your browser through a JavaScript benchmark that tests rendering, DOM update speed, web worker threads – which allows multi-threaded JavaScript – and other features.
Peacekeeper also tests for HTML5 features like WebGL, for browser-based 3D graphics, and HTML5 video. It’s the most consumer-focused, polished tool here, with its graphics, animations, and videos.
The tests take about five minutes. After they’re done, you’ll get a benchmark number, which you can compare to other devices. If you’re comparing different browsers on your computer, run the test in each browser and compare the numbers (higher is better!) to see which is actually faster.
SunSpider
SunSpider is a browser benchmark created by the WebKit team – WebKit being the rendering engine that powers Google Chrome, Apple Safari, the default browsers on Android and iOS, and others. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Start SunSpider now!” link to run SunSpider.
Like the other browser benchmarks here, SunSpider isn’t as “pretty” as Peacekeeper – you won’t find any animations or 3D graphics.
SunSpider won’t show you any arbitrary score numbers, just the amount of time each benchmark took to run (lower is better). If you want to compare browsers, you’ll have to do it yourself by performingtwo separate tests and pasting the URL of another test result into the text field.
Interestingly enough, my (unscientific) sample test found that Firefox 11 was actually faster than Chrome 18. Not the result I would have expected, considering that this benchmark came from the WebKit camp!
V8 Benchmark Suite
The V8 Benchmark Suite is used by Google to tune V8, the JavaScript engine used in Google Chrome. It’s a quick benchmark that starts as soon as you load the page.
Given the benchmark’s links to Google Chrome, it would be fair to wonder whether it’s the best method of comparing performance across different browsers. It provides a score – again, bigger is better.
Dromaeo
Dromaeo is Mozilla’s benchmark. It uses some of its own tests, as well as tests taken from SunSpider and V8. The test takes significantly longer to run than the others – around fifteen minutes.
You’ll see the number of runs per second for each test. More is better, of course. There’s no easy way to compare two different test runs, but you can bookmark a test run and revisit it later to compare the results manually.
Let us know how the benchmarks stack up for you – does a 64-bit browser actually offer improved performance on your system? I’m dying to know!
