Performance, CPU load and final thoughts
A common goal for the browser of today is to quickly load intensive flash-based websites such as YouTube, here's how our contenders stack up:
| YouTube.com load time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time in seconds, lower is better | ||||
| Chrome | IE8 | Opera 9 | IE7 | Firefox 3 |
| 2.32 | 2.51 | 2.25 | 2.7 | 2.11 |
The ever-popular video-sharing website loads quickly enough on them all, as expected, and Mozilla's Firefox 3 comes out narrowly ahead. Again, and as with the BBC and HEXUS tests, it proves that a certain browser may be slightly quicker at certain tasks, but they're all ultimately quick enough.
| Browser CPU load when viewing YouTube | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU load | ||||
| Chrome | IE8 | Opera 9 | IE7 | Firefox 3 |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
Onto CPU usage, and again there's very little in it. Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 shows its age - using eight per cent of CPU resources when viewing video on YouTube. The new crop of browsers, IE8, Chrome and Firefox 3 all average approximately six per cent CPU usage.
There's very little in it, and on a mid-to-high-end system, CPU usage with either browser won't be a deciding factor.
First-look conclusion
At first glance, Google appears to have found the nail, put it in Mozilla's coffin, and hit it firmly on the head. Chrome offers many of the features most used by the everyday user, and does it with a simplicity that makes the majority of its competitor's offerings appear bloated and dated in style.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer is likely to continue to hold onto market share as a result of being bundled with its Windows operating system. Mozilla, however, doesn't have that advantage, and Firefox now faces a significant threat from Google's impressive Chrome.
It's just a beta, but we're liking what we've seen so far. The real question is, should you upgrade? Well, despite our praise, perhaps not. Google Chrome doesn't offer a whole lot new, and if you're happy with your current browser, you may find little reason to switch.
In time, should Chrome receive a community following on a similar scale to that of Firefox, it could evolve into the ultimate browser. At present, it's just a very interesting beta.
