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One of the hottest topics today surrounding the internet is JavaScript. Ever since Gmail begun the trend of using AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML) for user interface enhancements it has been catapulted from its pariah status into the limelight. How fast a web browser can execute JavaScript instructions is now one of the most important benchmarks of its performance. Each company brags about their latest JavaScript engine and how much of an improvement it is over their previous one. In this vein, It’s Geektime has run some benchmarks on the alpha and beta versions of four of the popular web browsers.
Three different tests were used for benchmarking; The Sun Spider test, Google’s V8 test, and Mozilla’s Dromaeo JavaScript tests. Each browser was run through each test 5 times and the results were averaged at the end for a final score. The tests were performed on a dual core laptop with an NVidia GeForce 7 mobile GPU.
First up is the underdog of the group, the Opera Browser. The version tested was the Opera 11 Alpha build. Since this is an Alpha bugs and issues are expected. No bugs were detected in testing which says good things about the upcoming versions. On the Sun Spider test, Opera blew away the competition to receive first place with a score of 407 (lower is better on this test). On the V8 test it took a respectful place to Chrome with a score of 2375. Opera took second place again on the Dromaeo test to Chrome with a score of 223. The Opera browser has come a long way since 1995.
The newcomer to the browser wars, Google Chrome, is up next. IGT tested Chrome 7 beta version 7.0.517.41. Chrome pulled in a second place finish on the Sun Spider test with a score of 504. On Google’s own v8 test it took first place with a phenomenal score of 3315. Chrome again took first on the Dromeao tests with a 334. Google has placed a strong emphasis on JavaScript performance from day 1 of Chrome’s release so it is no surprise that it performs so well on these tests.
Next up we have today’s second popular browser, a fan favorite of many people, Firefox. We tested the Firefox 4 beta 6 version for these results. On the Sun Spider tests Firefox came in last by a decent amount with a score of 774. On the V8 test it came in last again with a measly 641. On Mozilla’s own Dromaeo test it took third place with a 185. Out of all the browsers tested, Firefox had by far the worst JavaScript performance. It seems as though the new JägerMonkey JavaScript engine needs more work. With this said, this version performed about twice as fast as the current Firefox 3.6 version. Firefox is known more for its extensibility and stability rather than performance, these numbers will most likely not turn people away from using it.
The last browser on our list is currently the most widely used family of browsers to date, as well as being the most maligned, Internet Explorer. The tested version is the Internet Explorer 9 beta version 9.0.7930.16406. IE9 took a close third place on the Sun Spider tests with a score of 565, right on the heels of Chrome 7. In the V8 tests, it scored much lower than Opera and Chrome with an 885, not too much above last place Firefox. On the Dromaeo tests, it scored last with a 125, not too much lower than Firefox. Overall, the JavaScript performance was a little better than Firefox 4’s, which is to say worlds better than the performance of the current release of IE 8. Microsoft has improved the JavaScript performance of Internet Explorer a lot, finally making it a much more competitive browser.
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