IE 8 versus Chrome versus Firefox

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I have IE 8, FF 3.6.8 and Chrome v6 all installed on my laptop. In a very unscientific approach (I did not actually time them with a stop watch) I am comparing IE 8 and Google Chrome. I have both set up to open 2 homepages and these forums when I first start my web browser (3 tabs in total). In my unscientific approach I could not discern any appreshible difference in the time for both IE 8 and Chrome v6 to open completely with all 3 web pages done loading. As I say this is not scientific because I do not have an accurate method to actual time these 2 events, but they sure seem almost the same. I do not see a difference at all. I do not see the faster loading that is claimed by Chrome. And since Chrome does have problems with certain web sites that I do use, IE 8 is my choice for now. I realize there is a Chrome 7 in development at this time.

FF actually seems slower than the other 2, again in these unscientific tests.

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Firefox has long been known for very pedestrian startup times. The time has improved and I’m sure is a point of emphasis with version 4.

Once the program itself is loaded, most people can’t tell the difference in page load times especially over the course of a typical browsing session. Of course anyone can find pages that perform better in one browser vs another. Since there has been a great deal of publicity about browser performance and Javascript performance in particular, Microsoft has been forced to respond with a new Javascript engine in version 9 of IE even though Javascript is a relatively small part of the browsing experience. That is not necessarily a bad thing. I think that for those of us who have a browser open almost all the time it really makes no difference which browser you use as long as the sites you visit are rendered properly.

Like you, I tend to stick with IE as I know there is high probability that any site I visit will render. I know about all the customization that can be done with other browsers but I don’t care. I’d just as soon not install another piece of software and associated plugins (many of which make moving to a new version of the browser very problematic).

Joe

--Joe

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Firefox has long been known for very pedestrian startup times. The time has improved and I’m sure is a point of emphasis with version 4.

Once the program itself is loaded, most people can’t tell the difference in page load times especially over the course of a typical browsing session. Of course anyone can find pages that perform better in one browser vs another. Since there has been a great deal of publicity about browser performance and Javascript performance in particular, Microsoft has been forced to respond with a new Javascript engine in version 9 of IE even though Javascript is a relatively small part of the browsing experience. That is not necessarily a bad thing. I think that for those of us who have a browser open almost all the time it really makes no difference which browser you use as long as the sites you visit are rendered properly.

Like you, I tend to stick with IE as I know there is high probability that any site I visit will render. I know about all the customization that can be done with other browsers but I don’t care. I’d just as soon not install another piece of software and associated plugins (many of which make moving to a new version of the browser very problematic).

Joe

I tend to agree with Joe on this one. Why install something that needs add ons, plug ins, to this, that, and something else. I’ll stick with IE just because IT WORKS!

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I tend to agree with Joe on this one. Why install something that needs add ons, plug ins, to this, that, and something else. I’ll stick with IE just because IT WORKS!

It works, but with limited functionality compared to Firefox and others. For users who basically only want to look at a few pages a basic browser like IE8 may be fine, but for those who want more Firefox offers it. As i do research etc. I often have dozens of tabs open from session to session, and want to do things like save the url with the page, and also to customize the look and functionality of the browser. With Firefox and extensions such as TabMixPlus and Colorful tabs, i can have multiple tab rows, different colored tabs and adjust the min and max. width of them (getting far more screen real estate) while Find in tabs located words among them.

With Session manager i can save different search session, and with SaveWithUrl i can have the URL of a page placed on the page when saving it, and UnMht enables saving in the .mht format as well.

Menu editor allows me to customize right click menus, Converter shows metric sizes as standard in a right click menu, Word Count counts words in a selected text areas, and the Google toolbar or the Googlebar offers many options, while the multiple themes which are available allows you to reflect a world of color and variety, thanks to God. And being so conducive to developer add ons, Firefox better manifests the assets and interdependence of a community.

All this and more is missing in IE8, which has few add ons (and no themes) but i do use it sometimes when wanting to just do a temporary look up of a few pages.

peacebyjesus.net

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I agree Joe. The insignificant differences in these page renderings do nothing toward convincing me to use either FF or Chrome over IE 8. Some say Chrome is more secure, but my feeling is that security comes from the way an individual uses their PC and the sites you visit, etc. If you keep your security apps up to date and are careful with what you do, your chances of infection are less. If I am surfing sites I am unfamiliar with I use Sandboxie to set up a virtual environment. I believe this allows me to check these new sites before adding them to my favorites for repeat visits using the regular browser. I also don’t really care for most of the eye candy on my browser. The add ons I use can be used on IE 8 as well as FF or Chrome (I use Last Pass password manager, WOT and add blockers).

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Ted, look Here

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RR, It’s really not worth the effort since I load 3 separate web pages in 3 separate tabs each time I open my browser of choice. Even if a saw a small difference it would make very little difference in my overall usage. The point is that because of the better overall coverage of assorted web sites by IE 8 over Chrome, this is my choice for everyday usage. I do at times use Chrome as well. FF is the browser that sits idle more than the other two on my PC now.

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In other words this is a matter of personal preference. Not unlike Red wine or White, Lite beer or Lager?

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In other words this is a matter of personal preference. Not unlike Red wine or White, Lite beer or Lager?

Exactly. Since I do not see an appreciable difference between the browsers as far as speed loading, etc, my preference is for IE 8 because it’s able to render more sites than Chrome. So yes, I guess it’s personal preferencee.

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Ted, Here is another site you could try. http://browsermob.com/free-website-performance-test/20f834243cc5437a9505722c4936ceb7

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Ted, Here is another site you could try. http://browsermob.co…505722c4936ceb7

This site appears to test the speed across the web. There are many sites similar to this. This is not the speed I am talking about. I’m talking about the comparative speed of IE 8 versus Chrome from the time I click on the shortcut until the time all 3 pages are fully loaded and ready for use. Both IE 8 and Chrome seem almost identical to me. Because of more universal acceptance of IE 8, that is my default for now. As stated above who knows what the future may bring.

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For some interesting reading on the subject.You can read all about here;Browser Blowout 2010

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For some interesting reading on the subject.You can read all about here;Browser Blowout 2010

I did read this about a week ago. My preference is IE 8 at this time. Perhaps when Google Chrome becomes more universal I will consider it as my default browser, who knows what the future may bring.

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Ted, when you first posted this topic, I started looking for a program I tried not so long ago but unable to find it or remember its name. These were the best I could find ( I thought ) will keep looking.

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Just one thing I would like people to consider about Chrome. When a tab or a plug-in crashes, you do not have to restart the entire browser. Just close the tab and reload the tab. This can be a time-saver, and it helps in preserving any log-ins which may be active in the uncrashed tabs. Otherwise, to each their own, but I prefer the fact that Chrome installs on a per-user basis, uses fewer Administrator privileges in a non-admin account, and opens each tab as a new process. And Chrome does not run Active-X. But speed is comparable to IE8, unless you are running Flash or HTML-5 video. There, Chrome runs circles around IE8. I know there are web sites which are not Chrome-friendly, but I have yet to encounter one.

-- rc primak

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I have been using Firefox as my default browser for a few years now. If IE8 had been out at the time I switched from IE I would probably not have bothered installing and learning a new browser. But now MS has decided not to allow IE9 on XP, and so I shall stick with Firefox at least until I replace my PC.

I tried Chrome a month or two back and felt it was faster than Firefox, but that is of no relevance to me as it is hopeless at displaying web pages on my 120 dpi monitor: Should respect monitor DPI settings IE and Firefox just work in this respect.

JPL

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I agree with JPL – IE had too many problems when i switched to Firefox, i just could not trust MS at that time – so as long as Firefox is in the hunt, it will stay as my primary. Admittedly there are several web pages (mostly US Gov.) that do not seem to work on Firefox, for whatever reason. (Win 7 64x)

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One interesting thing I have noticed between IE8 and Chrome is that I have been running “Webroot Spyware” for quite some time. It is set to do a system scan once weekly. Running IE8 exclusively it normally detects approx 25-30 incidents weekly ( 99% ) are tracking cookies. Running Chrome for the same time period it usually reports ” no incidents” or one or two at most. Perhaps this is due to the fact that chrome does nor run active x as a previous poster mentioned? In my use Chrome seems to load a little faster but if I want to go to most secure websites IE: banking and some Govt sites only IE will work.

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Running IE8 exclusively it normally detects approx 25-30 incidents weekly ( 99% ) are tracking cookies. Running Chrome for the same time period it usually reports ” no incidents” or one or two at most. Perhaps this is due to the fact that chrome does nor run active x as a previous poster mentioned?

ActiveX is not a requirement for a site to store a cookie. You should check your privacy settings in IE for the Internet Zone.

Joe

--Joe

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There’s no one browser that does everything correctly for me. For example, I use web-based email and, when inserting / pasting a website URL into an email message, I always use IE8. The recipient can click on the URL link in the message and it will open the desired website. Using Firefox, that URL link is not “active”. Recipient has to copy and paste it into their address bar; very inconvenient and possibly confusing for the recipient. Second example: one of my start pages is set up with lots of content so you scroll down a long way to see all of it. This particular website refreshes itself every few minutes. If using IE8, the website reverts to the top of the page whenever it refreshes, forcing me to scroll way way down the page to get back to where I was. Using Firefox, the page refreshes and returns to exactly where I was on the page. This is far more convenient! Other than this start page and my web-based email, I prefer Chrome browser because it’s really fast and leaves fewer “tracks’ behind when closing the browser. So, have found all 3 browsers to be useful on a day-to-day basis. Really the only reason for even trying Firefox and Chrome in the first place was the constant stream of security vulnerabilities in IE8 that have been widely publicized over the years.

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For example, I use web-based email and, when inserting / pasting a website URL into an email message, I always use IE8. The recipient can click on the URL link in the message and it will open the desired website. Using Firefox, that URL link is not “active”. Recipient has to copy and paste it into their address bar; very inconvenient and possibly confusing for the recipient.

Not sure why, but most webmail sites do seem to have better automatic URL-to-link support for IE than for other browsers. These sites generally provide a “create link” button you can use in any browser to select the text and make it clickable by pasting the URL into a dialog. (Not unlike the create link button on this forum.) But it is an extra step for you.

If there is any site that you feel does not work as well as it should in Firefox, you can use the Help > Report broken web site… menu item to try to get it on a list of sites for “evangelism” by Mozilla. (I wouldn’t hold your breath, though!)

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If there is any site that you feel does not work as well as it should in Firefox, you can use the Help > Report broken web site… menu item to try to get it on a list of sites for “evangelism” by Mozilla. (I wouldn’t hold your breath, though!)

If Firefox can fix that URL Link problem I will reward their “evangelism” with an Halleluia!

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Daniel Hamilton: Havings rows of tabs open in Firefox sure requires a lot of memory. How many GBs of RAM do you have?

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I actually have all three of the browsers installed on my computer (and a few more) as I test with them while developing software for my company’s web site.

For many years I have used FF as my default browser, and every once in a while I would need to use IE to get onto certain sites. Far more often I found that a site works right in FF and not in IE. Even while developing Web sites I find that there always have to be special work-arounds for IE to load the pages properly.

Currently I like FF because of all of the Add-Ons, it’s like the icing on the cake. I like Chrome because I like the clean interface. And I use IE only when I need to. I also bring up Opera on occasion because I just like it (several of the Add-Ons I have in FF mimic some built in abilities in Opera).

My un-scientific opinion…

[*]For speed: #1-Chrome, #2-IE, then #3-FF (FF is actually faster until you load all the Add-Ons, then it slows down).[*]For ease-of-use: #1-Chrome, #2-FF, then #3-IE.[*]For flexibility: #1-FF, #2-Chrome (Chrome is in a very close second place), then #3-IE.[*]For security: #1-Chrome, #2-FF, #3-IE (although IE seems to be catching up with security).

The main reason I stick with FF as my default is because it lets me customize it so that it is truly a browser that works the way I want it to, and the security is good. If I could change one thing about it, it would be to speed it up even with a couple dozen Add-Ons installed in it.

With all of that being said, I don’t think any one should truly rely on just one browser, the same way we shouldn’t have just one tool in our tool box, and that way we can also keep the competition going so that there is always innovation.

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I agree with George’s list. There are two main reasons that I use FF, security and add-on availability. Microsoft has done a good job keeping IE current, but IE will always be less secure than FF. The reason is that IE is the biggest target, and hackers will always be attacking first the biggest target, desiring the largest “market”. The other reason is that FF has a huge number of add-on helpers. Since many web developers continue to test their work with IE only, IE renders more pages “correctly” than other browsers. FF has an add-on button that will show you the current page in IE, should you be suspect of FF’s rendering. Handy! What I will not give up is the No Script plug-in. It shows you all scripts which want to run on a given web page and gives you complete control over their execution. This enhances your security and allows you to prevent obnoxious Flash, other ads, and spyware, from running. For example I permanently block the ever-present Google-Analytics script from running until such time as I know the entirety of what is done with this detailed list of almost every web site I ever visit. (Remember, Google never deletes anything!)

Chrome loads and renders sites somewhat faster for me and it runs all pages in their own sandbox, a big security plus not in IE or FF. But Google is in the advertising business! The No Script folks tell us that Chrome has had all of the “hooks” they need to function carefully designed out. There will never be a No Script for Chrome. Google has just bought the Double-click ad server business and will no doubt buy other purveyors of Flash. They really don’t want us to be blocking this “service”. So, I continue to live with FF, retro look, pimples, and all. For me, it’s the least of three evils!

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I agree with others that you should not rely on one browser, alone. No one browser does everything well.

The first browser I ever used was Netscape, back when it was about the only browser available. . . used it for years until I discovered Opera. I’ve used Opera ever since as my main browser, but will use Firefox or Avant when needed. I never use IE: Avant or Maxthon both work better the few instances when “IE is required”.

Opera has always been in the forefront with new ideas and features. They were the first with tabs and many other features that most browsers have nowadays. Their Tab feature still has more options than any other browser. On my systems, Opera loads quicker than other browsers and seems to display pages quicker, also.

I like using Firefox, but do not like having to wait for third party “extension” and “add-on” updates every time Firefox comes out with a new version. Opera has most all of these “extensions, etc.” built-in and when a new version of Opera is released, “everything just works”.

I like to customize most of the software that I use, moving Toolbars to more convenient locations, adding features that are not there by default and removing features, icons, etc., that I don’t use. Opera is by far, the easiest browser to customize and has the most options.

I frequently use the “Notes” feature in Opera. Not sure if any other browsers even have that. It lets me highlight a word, sentence, paragraph, etc., from a web page and save it as a note. Later, if I need to go back to the original site, I just double-click on the entry and Opera takes me right back to the web page it was copied from. Opera has always had the best “Download” feature, allowing me to Start, Stop and Resume downloads whenever I need to. Another feature that I use a lot is “Search within page”. All I do is press the slash key and type the word I’m looking for . . . don’t even touch the mouse! Then, F3 takes me to every occurrence of the word on that page. If I go to another page, F3 resumes the same search again! Mouse gestures is another feature that I use. A simple rocking motion on the mouse buttons takes me backward and forward on web pages.

Opera Unite is a great feature that I use a lot. With it, I can share files of any size, with anyone I choose. I can also set a link to my system’s photo files and friends can view and download whatever they like with no further action on my part!

I think that Opera is not more popular than it is because not many are aware of what all it can do.

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It appears that I have started a very animated , and might I say very useful, discussion of the various attributes and shortcomings of many of the assorted browsers available. This was my original intention. I do appreciate all the feedback and opinions expressed. This discussion has been very insightful with a variety of very well thought out opinions that I hope every one else finds as useful as I have. Thank you for all your posts.

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As to speed, I also notice Chrome a little faster. But I’ve used FF for years and continue to use it, because of the power of its addons. IE8 doesn’t have any, and Chrome has some but not yet comparable to FF.

Here’s what my FF addons do:

[*]Block ads. No more annoying ads in my viewing.
[*]Super-cookie (Flash cookie) manager, much better privacy and no loss of functionality.
[*]Download statusbar instead of annoying popup window.
[*]Xmarks to share bookmarks and tabs
[*]Tab grouping!! Remember how great it was the first time you used tabs instead of separate windows for each site? Tab grouping is as good as that.
[*]Download-them-all, download masses of similar items like photos, etc instead of one at a time
[*]Automatic proxy use for some sites to get around internal website control

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As to speed, I also notice Chrome a little faster. But I’ve used FF for years and continue to use it, because of the power of its addons. IE8 doesn’t have any, and Chrome has some but not yet comparable to FF.

IE8 may not have the volume of addons that Firefox does but it does have addons. See Add-ons Gallery[/url].

Joe

--Joe

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IE8 may not have the volume of addons that Firefox does but it does have addons. See Add-ons Gallery[/url].

Joe

Although this article is almost 2 years old, I found it interesting. I tried most of what they were showing and found that 1: I had to CTRL Click for a new tab on a link. The open in new tab when I right click on a link is not listed on my IE, and the second item I found that was not there was the “Tab Group #” after the name of the website.
IE 8 Tab Grouping

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