Which Browser Is Fastest?

@RichF: here's a link that provides an answer to your questions: http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/

After having read it, I switched to Opera for my netbook (I'm travelling at the moment) and I'm quite happy with it, except for the fact that it doesn't function properly with Blogger.

I ENJOY READING YOUR NEWSLETTER BUT AT MY AGE 81 IDID NOT LIKE THE NEW FIREFOX EVEN THOUGH I HAD BEEN USINGIT BEFORE
REASON I COULD NOT FIND MY FAVOURITES AND INSTRUCTIONS WERE COMPLICATED
REGARDS
JOE

Since the day Microsoft changed the way "favorites" are saved (used to not expand the tree by default) I have cursed them every time I press + D to add a favorite. I have so many favorites filed in folders and subfolders that it scrolls 25 pages in the "create in" window! So my gripe isn't with speed as much as vendors changing the functionality and not giving end-users options of HOW THEY WANT THE BROWSER TO FUNCTION. It's fine with me if someone finds the new way of saving favorites to be better than the old, or if Microsoft's focus groups find "ribbons" easier than "toolbars and menus" but for crying out loud, give me the option to use the old style.

To the topic on speed, I find, even with a broadband connection, that web pages are bloated beyond belief. I don't like "bookmark" based browsers - Chrome or Firefox - and would prefer better interoperability between them when it comes to "favorites/bookmarks."

Bob this is a well balance article. I personally only use Firefox myself, love the restore previous session and tap feature. IE is a joke.

I know I didn't understand everything you said in this article, but I am sure that IE8 and Firefox take longer to display than Chrome on my particular system. There is such a great disparity between them that every single time I decide to again try IE8 and Firefox I absoltely have to go back to Chrome so I don't go crazier. I should mention I am on dial-up with a single core CPU.

I am currently using Firefox, but I've long preferred Opera. I switched to Firefox because some pages did not display correctly in Opera. Opera's pop-up blocker beats all the others hands down, and has less baggage. In the immediate future I will give the latest installment of Opera a chance to win me back.

IE9 is acceptable except for the lack of a good ad blocker. Chrome and Firefox both have AdBlock Plus. Chrome's advantage is that you can sync your bookmarks, form info, and web history with your Google account, making all this available in Chrome on any computer, and also on your Android phone/tablet. Firefox's advantage is the incredible number of add-ons available for it, not the least of which is GreaseMonkey.

So I think it's Firefox (plus Adblock Plus) for geeks, and Chrome (plus AdBlock Plus) for everybody else.

I continue to use IE (now using IE 9). I've tried them all and for a while used Firefox, but got tired of the addons breaking everytime the browser was updated. I never worry about that happening with IE. It just works. PERIOD.

I find that firefox crashes most of the time. Also I cannot absolutely use Chrome. When you look at my email address, you see that Chrome would be very easy for me to use. I don't know what else to do. Thank you for any suggestions you may have. IE works best.

I'm sure there must be some logical reason why it's not my browser, but I haven't found it yet. I have Win7, IE8 and Firefox 3.6. I avoid add-ins on any of them. Same with toolbars. But, say loading a YouTube video, it will start to play in IE, then stop and download, taking inordinately long. Switch to Mozilla, and it downloads and hums right along.

I thought maybe some malware got into my system, but couldn't find any with the typical checks. So I attacked it like the Ebola virus, several different programs, safe mode, and even screening the Registry, temp files, cache, and everything else, if my computer ain't safe, nobody's is.

IE is fast with some, slow with others, and I'd blame the site, but Mozilla has no problem with any of them. I'm no anti-IE elitist, and need it on occasion. But with many past MS releases, I'm apprehensive about their hype.

AS a regular Mac user for ages, I use both Firefox 4 and Safari 5; I don't see much difference between the two for speed or ease of use but Ff 4 is definitely faster than Ff3

My experience tells Firefox is the best. It seems faster then IE8, but what's more important: it doesn't crush! Maybe it's my particular system (old computer + XP), but IE crushes on it all the time. The problem is I still need to use IE sometimes, because there are sites that doesn't work well on Firefox and work even worse on Opera - my favorite browser. So Firefox is the choice..

Nice one Bob! I find that Firefox (3 & 4) hangs a great deal on my system, and Chrome is probably most reliable. I'd love to get all their features in one, yes one, browser.

I like and use Chromium. Open source. Worth a try.

I am always surprised that no one else seems to notice the biggest problem with IE through version 8 (they seem to have fixed this somewhat with IE9) is the unwanted creation of new browser windows. If I were to click through the same number of web links in various browsers, IE8 will leave me with multiple windows (not tabs) no matter how I set my preferences, whereas Chrome and Firefox will reliably open links in new tabs instead. I like the interface and speed of Chrome, but I find that despite the supposed isolation of the tabs from each other, I eventually find a web site that will lock up not just that tab, but the whole browser. I find Firefox has the best combination of speed and stability.

I too am a huge fan of opera not just for speed,it has loads more features than firefox,also opera has a great password manager, form filler, spell checker but such a shame it is not compatable with some secure website

I switched to firefox about 2 weeks ago but after reading this article i'm gonna give opera another try. I think it's time the creators of opera put pressure on those websites who don't write there webpages in opera format.

Speed for me is dependent on my ISP.
All browsers have issues.

I don't use Firefox because it's a CPU hog.
Chrome has issues with certain script-based forms.
For all that Chrome is supposed to have GreaseMonkey capability built in, I can't get it to work.
I don't use IE because I've gotten out of the habit of using Internet Exploder. I think I really stopped trusting IE when IE7 wouldn't work with the operating system for which it was originally built, Vista.

Mostly I use Chrome, switching to Firefox when forms I'm filling out don't operate properly. Chrome is getting better.

When in doubt, delete all saved data, cookies, forms, passwords, all of it, and reboot your computer.

I completely agree,it's not the browser as far as speed. I find it to be your ISP and the type of connection your paying for. My ISP has different levels of speed, of course if you take the cheapest you will get the standard basic speed. So if your not happy with your speed upgrade with your ISP (internet service provider) for a couple of bucks more. Find a browser you are comfortable with , dont delete the previous one until your happy with one. Thanks BOB for the article. Jewls

Well, different people may have different experience. Why not installing all of them and use each one for some time? Then you will find out which one is suitable for you.
I'm now have three web browser installed in my Win7 64 bit.Firefox,Chrome and Avant browser. These three are the ones I like more. So I kept all of them. Most of the time I use Avant, because it has both firefox and chrome engine. Most of the time, one browser is enough.But there are the moments a browser just doesn't work as you want. Then just change to other browsers.

I agree that the ISP and the website is to blame with speed. What I would like to know, and was briefly mentioned by Lin D, is "Which browser is the LEAST memory hungry?"