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[IN] IE8: How Fast Is Fast Enough?

3K views 53 replies 40 participants last post by  Darz 
#1 ·
Quote:


Microsoft feels that Internet Explorer, especially upcoming version 8, isn't getting the respect it deserves when it comes to talking about speed.

So IE officials have done what any good Web-savvy netizen might do -- they've made an online video demonstrating that IE8 is as fast as competitors.

In the video, and in an accompanying whitepaper, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) claims to demonstrate real world load times for 25 top Web sites on the Web. The load times had to be shot with a high-speed camera because many of the times were too quick for the human eye.

For instance, it took 0.28 seconds to load Google's home page in Google Chrome, 0.22 seconds in Mozilla Firefox, and 0.20 seconds for IE8. On the other hand, for Microsoft's home page, Chrome took 3.83 seconds, Firefox came in at 3.47, and IE8 was in the middle with 3.75 seconds.

The performance testing may still serve an important goal for Microsoft as it's preparing to publicly launch IE8. InternetNews.com reported last week that IE8 would be released to manufacturing in mid-March.

The focus on speed in particular should come as no surprise: Rivals like Mozilla and Apple have been crowing about the impressive performance of the upcoming editions of their Firefox and Safari browsers, while IE has long carried a reputation for being downright pokey.

In a public beta that began late last month, Apple claimed that Safari 4 would break speed records thanks to a new JavaScript engine called Nitro, which it said runs over four times faster than the engine in Safari 3.

Mozilla, meanwhile, has been hard at work on improving Firefox 3.1's performance courtesy of its TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. The 3.1 release of the browser entered its third beta this week.

Google, which has been pressing into the space with its Chrome browser, has also made a point of publicizing its speedy page rendering -- assertions that, like all of the browser vendors' competing claims, have come under fire from their rivals.

Interesting though Microsoft's results might be in its new video, the speed differences among three browsers from the top vendors -- IE8, Google Chrome 1.0, and Mozilla Firefox 3.05 -- are only sub-seconds apart.

In many cases, in fact, many of the tests yielded results that were just a few hundredths of a second apart -- crucial if you're an Olympic swimmer in the final heats, but possibly overkill for Web surfing.

The company's whitepaper explains Microsoft's testing methodology so that readers could run their own tests if they want, and presents the results of its own tests. It also presents tips for normalizing the browsers' initial state by, for example, pre-loading the browsers' page caches.

Microsoft's whitepaper also said that the company runs the tests on 25 different sites daily and "tens of thousands" monthly.

Source

Microsoft IE8 Video Link

I don't know what to think
All I know is the editing in that video made me want to vomit
 
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#4 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by kylzer
View Post

I like IE8 very quick on win7

yep only locked up twice in the past 30 min here. in windows xp its every time i click on it
 
#9 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by DJZeratul
View Post

If safari had mozilla extension support id totally use that. Its been majorly pwning everything in the futuremark browser benchmark...

Futuremark Benchmarks prove nothing. Real world benchmarks mean everything. The fact that each browser is microseconds apart shows it comes down to personal preference. And honestly if you think that if Firefox had 100% of market share it wouldn't get virii like IE has in the past, then you don't understand how these lil bug writers think.

Hit as many people as possible so go after the largest market share. Honestly for all the crap Microsoft has to put up with in terms of exploits, they do a pretty good job trying to fix it as soon as possible.

edit: And yes OSX and Linux distro's have exploits, they just aren't noted as much due to the lower market share.

Win7 beta + IE8 has been running very well on my work system which is a Sempron 2600+ , GeForce 5200 and 1 gig RAM and the system was notoriously moody to begin with.
 
#12 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by ZionEx
View Post

Futuremark Benchmarks prove nothing. Real world benchmarks mean everything. The fact that each browser is microseconds apart shows it comes down to personal preference. And honestly if you think that if Firefox had 100% of market share it wouldn't get virii like IE has in the past, then you don't understand how these lil bug writers think.

Hit as many people as possible so go after the largest market share. Honestly for all the crap Microsoft has to put up with in terms of exploits, they do a pretty good job trying to fix it as soon as possible.

edit: And yes OSX and Linux distro's have exploits, they just aren't noted as much due to the lower market share.

Win7 beta + IE8 has been running very well on my work system which is a Sempron 2600+ , GeForce 5200 and 1 gig RAM and the system was notoriously moody to begin with.

I was kidding dude lol

but good response.
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ElMikeTheMike View Post
Fully agreed.
In Win7, IE8 crashes on me every 5 minutes at least. I once put up with it for an hour and counted how many times it crashed. Crashed 14 times in an hour. That's pathetic.
 
#16 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by killnine View Post
All I care about is that browsers support the same level of CSS. You would think 6 years of development would get you close, but no.
Sigh. So very very true. Why do I have to spend so much time coding in IE CSS hacks? Please tell me why?
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by DJZeratul View Post
Sigh. So very very true. Why do I have to spend so much time coding in IE CSS hacks? Please tell me why?
i feel ya too, damn hacks
 
#18 ·
IE 7 crashed once on me since one month on my fresh install, 14 crashes in an hour? There must be something else wrong...
 
#19 ·
"I like IE8 very quick on win7"
"Fully agreed."
"i'm usin IE8 atm and love it"

You guys,

HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

IE8 takes ages to load web pages compared to Chrome..
For all of you that keep defending IE, just try to open a new tab...notice how it says "Connecting..." and makes you wait about a second or two for no reason whatsoever?
Not to mention the fact that the video is completely fake and the huge number of bugs that make it a PITA for developers.
Why in the world would I, or anybody else, want to use IE when there are much better alternatives out there???
 
#20 ·
one thing is sure, they have to do a lot of work. a lot of the opposition is better...
 
#21 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ZionEx View Post
edit: And yes OSX and Linux distro's have exploits, they just aren't noted as much due to the lower market share.
The what?... I don't see a connection between code quality and comercials...
I might be stupid but this browser wars aren't about kicking out the best (that means your IE), but rather because there is actually better code in the woods.
My absolute favourite is Firefox, but I like Chrome too. And you know what? The community behind FOSS doesn't give a damn about your statistics, nor it cares about spending millions on protecting their own rights so they can practice patent trolling. They just do their work. I don't expect you to understand why they are better than you...

And because i use the lower market share... umm... the thing you call Linux distro... i'm not force to eat any browser. Not that it's the freedom i seek, it's just less nonsense.

Unless you wanna get flamed i suggest you think twice before posting.
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by killnine View Post
All I care about is that browsers support the same level of CSS. You would think 6 years of development would get you close, but no.
Indeed. It would make web development a WHOLE lot easier.
But IE is still fail, and undeserving of any respect.
 
#24 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Phalanx1 View Post
Source

Microsoft IE8 Video Link

I don't know what to think
All I know is the editing in that video made me want to vomit

If they want to talk to me....they need to fix the browser's compatibility with XP Themes. Then I might be impressed with it.
 
#25 ·
Firefox is still king among power users because of all it's features and plugins. I could use stuff like Greasemonkey and I used to be able to use things like Code Breaker v1.02 before they got sued. Hands down Firefox FTW!
 
#26 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by giecsar View Post
"I like IE8 very quick on win7"
"Fully agreed."
"i'm usin IE8 atm and love it"

You guys,

HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

IE8 takes ages to load web pages compared to Chrome..
For all of you that keep defending IE, just try to open a new tab...notice how it says "Connecting..." and makes you wait about a second or two for no reason whatsoever?
Not to mention the fact that the video is completely fake and the huge number of bugs that make it a PITA for developers.
Why in the world would I, or anybody else, want to use IE when there are much better alternatives out there???
I don't have any of the issues you've described with IE7 or IE8..? Maybe you need to install your OS right or something.
 
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