What browser? in Off Topic

ID:181235
 
Feb 28 2011, 8:46 am
I'm looking for a browser which uses the lowest CPU and memory.

I've tried out these: IE 8, Firefox, Opera and Google Chrome.

What would you recommend me to use?
#1 Feb 28 2011, 9:45 pm
On my computer Chrome uses 0% CPU when idle.
It's up to you if really, try them all at your favorite websites to find out which one is best
#2 Mar 1 2011, 10:03 am
If you keep the number of tabs to a minimum, Chrome is a great browser for memory footprint. The only way to know which one works best for you is to try them all.
#3 Mar 1 2011, 3:41 pm
In response to Danial.Beta (#2)
I like google chrome and I.E there is also safari
#4 Mar 5 2011, 8:53 pm
I recommend that you use a browser called 'OffbyOne'. 8/

see http://offbyone.com/offbyone/
#5 Mar 6 2011, 9:03 am
In response to Mr. Waltz (#3)
Google Chrome is one of the highest-using memory browsers, and don't even get me started on IE....
#6 Mar 6 2011, 9:13 am
In response to OrangeWeapons (#5)
Which one would you recommend me then?
#7 Mar 6 2011, 4:41 pm
In response to Raimo (#6)
Raimo wrote:
Which one would you recommend me then?

Could you guys please back up your statements with actual real hard scientific facts?
I am also interested.
#8 Mar 6 2011, 4:58 pm
In response to Flame Sage (#7)
Flame Sage wrote:
Raimo wrote:
Which one would you recommend me then?

Could you guys please back up your statements with actual real hard scientific facts?
I am also interested.



All browsers were opened and sent to byond.com/members. Then activity ceased. I can't bare to use most of these browsers for anything more than testing website layouts.

Both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer started multiple processes regardless of the fact there was only one window with one tab opened for each of them.

After adding the processes together, the memory impact of browsers from smallest to largest is:
  • Google Chrome
  • Internet Explorer
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Opera


It is from this I have determined that Firefox is the best browser, because I have a Phenom II x6 and 8GB DDR3 RAM which means the memory imprint of any browser is negligible to me. ;)
#9 Mar 6 2011, 5:00 pm
In response to Tiberath (#8)
Care to post the version numbers?
Can you test out the latest Beta builds for each (Firefox 4 / Newest Chrome / IE 9?)
#10 Mar 6 2011, 5:02 pm
In response to Flame Sage (#9)
Flame Sage wrote:
Care to post the version numbers?
Can you test out the latest Beta builds for each (Firefox 4 / Newest Chrome / IE 9?)

IE8
FF 3.6.14 (currently updating it seems).

And the rest were downloaded from their respective websites less than a week ago, so assume they're completely up to date.

As for more testing, I'm really not that invested in it. My reply was mostly a joke. <.<
#11 Mar 8 2011, 3:30 pm
I've done a comparison of every browser you listed and a couple more on how much memory they took up as they ran. With only one tab running, Google Chrome smoked the competition with far less memory usage. However, since each tab is a separate process it uses more with more tabs. That has many security benefits though. I believe Chrome is definitely the most secure browser, the fastest browser, and I'm also certain it uses the least amount of memory when only one tab is open.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Opera was in second place, and it doesn't use more memory with more tabs. It is, however, far less secure and not as fast. If you're looking purely for the least amount of memory usage, use Google Chrome and only open one tab.
#12 Mar 9 2011, 2:48 am
In response to Tiberath (#8)
Tiberath wrote:
It is from this I have determined that Firefox is the best browser, because I have a Phenom II x6 and 8GB DDR3 RAM which means the memory imprint of any browser is negligible to me. ;)

Dear God this.
#13 Mar 15 2011, 7:37 am
In response to Tiberath (#8)
Any single snapshot of browser's memory usages is not a good indicator over all. Chrome on my system regularly uses over 500MB of RAM because I keep lots of tabs open, and every tab is it's own process that uses up considerable resources. Firefox does a great job of keeping RAM low with lots of tabs open as long as you don't keep it open for long periods of time.

Also, what you are looking at is just the RAM usage, saying nothing of page file usage. It's memory footprint may be much bigger than those numbers suggest.

The fact of the matter is that on modern hardware RAM consumption is a non-issue(mostly). My 4GB of RAM never gets past %50 full unless I'm playing a game or something malfunctions. Granted, if I was doing something where a lot of RAM was needed I would be annoyed at browsers using up as much as they want.
#14 Mar 15 2011, 5:28 pm
In response to Danial.Beta (#13)
Please see the last sentence in [link]. =)
#15 Mar 16 2011, 6:29 am
In response to Xacma (#4)
Looking at that browser's webpage, it hasn't been updated since 2006. Web standards and javascript have come a long way since then. I haven't tried it, but I have a feeling that something that old likely has poor JS and CSS support and slow page rendering speeds. Some of the biggest advances in browsers have come in the form of page render and javascript execution speed.
#16 Mar 16 2011, 4:32 pm
Mozilla Firefox all the way, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome fail (All browsers track what you do so you might want to disable that before you start surfing the web)
#17 Mar 20 2011, 7:49 pm (Edited by moderator on Mar 21 2011, 2:37 pm)
In response to DragonBallz_21_24 (#16)
Plus, I believe Firefox, Chrome, Opera and IE all have a privacy feature which hides everything.
#18 Mar 21 2011, 7:27 pm
In response to Danial.Beta (#15)
http://offbyone.com/offbyone/ob1_overview.htm
"
Off By One Browser Limitations
No JavaScript support (so no pop-up ad windows).
No applet, plug-in or Flash support.
"
#19 Mar 21 2011, 7:30 pm
In response to Chowder (#18)
In other words you may as well be using Lynx (a text-based browser for UNIX-type systems).