Google Chrome the “Fattest” of them All
According to exo.performance.network (www.xpnet.com),
Earlier this week, we posted our findings from a 3-way browser comparison we had conducted featuring Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 (Beta 2) and Firefox 3.01. As we were going to “print,” we learned that Google was readying its own foray into the browser market – Google Chrome – prompting us to quickly revisit our test scenario to add this high-profile newcomer to the mix.
Note: For more information on the exo.performance.network, or to register for your free Analysis Portal account, visit www.xpnet.com.
What we found was truly shocking: After re-executing our 10-site, multi-tab scenario across all 4 browsers, we discovered that it is Google Chrome, not Internet Explorer 8, that is the true memory consumption leader.
With a peak working set (324MB) just shy of IE 8’s updated 332MB mark, Chrome put a massive hit on available memory for our 2GB Windows XP (SP3) test system. And when we switched our focus to the average working set, Chrome actually topped IE 8 with an impressive 267MB footprint (compared to 211MB for IE 8).
Figure 1 – Average and Peak Working Sets