Does Chrome's Polish Out Shine the Competition?

By James Mowery Sep 9, 2008

Firefox has been in the spotlight for the past few years, but now another browser is aiming to steal that attention away. That browser is none other than Google Chrome. It seems like these are very critical times as new browsers and browser versions are constantly being developed, but never has a new browser had such attention behind it. So, just how well does Chrome fair when compared to its competition?

Figuring out which browser is the best is no easy task. Actually, it is virtually impossible — everyone has their own preference. There is no “perfect” solution, but there are browsers out there that are better suited for their user.

Even though these things are unpredictable: performance, reliability, compatibility and functionality are a few key areas to begin with when trying to determine which browser is better suited for a particular user. So, how does Chrome compare against the competition in these categories?

Page Rendering Performance

AnandTech: “Chrome varies from being the fastest of the four to being the slowest, depending on what you throw at it.”

When evaluating Chrome's performance in terms of page rendering, there is no single answer to the question of whether or not it is faster than other browsers. Some websites take a while to load, while others seem to load instantly — no two websites are the same, and no two websites are programmed the same either. This is why it is nearly impossible to benchmark page loading ability on such a general level.

If someone did manage to notice a difference in page rendering speed, it shouldn't be enough to justify switching to another browser.

Furthermore, there has been plenty of mention by users throughout the blogosphere about how Chrome “feels” faster at loading pages. This isn't necessarily the result of faster page loading, but it could be a result of pipelining (a technique used by browsers to display content faster).

There are also quite a few other tricks that could be used to display content as it is loaded, instead of waiting for the content to finish loading. Regardless, a page that takes a second to load entirely, still takes a second to load. Don't be deceived.

Chrome performs very well, but anyone who states that it is faster in general is
basing it on the type of sites they visit, which are not necessarily the same as another person.

Verdict: Chrome is on par with other top browsers.

Javascript Performance

John Resig: “Chrome is definitely the fastest in these results - although the results from the new TraceMonkey engine aren't included.”

CNET: “Google's overall score is head and shoulders above the competition for executing JavaScript.”

ZDNet Germany: “Google Chrome is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in the browser market, bringing new competition for the previous performance leaders.”

JavaScript performance is an interesting thing to analyze for several reasons:

JavaScript is being used on more Websites than ever
JavaScript is going to continue to grow in popularity and use
JavaScript has plenty of untapped potential

As for the actual performance, there is no denying that Chrome with the V8 JavaScript rendering engine has the edge when compared to many other popular browsers. It blows the competition away.

TraceMonkey May Out Perform V8

However, there is a catch with that statement. You see, the Mozilla bunch is already making huge improvements with TraceMonkey, the developmental version of Firefox's JavaScript engine named SpiderMonkey. To make things more intriguing, Mozilla has already posted some JavaScript testing results that show TraceMonkey outperforming V8.