Google Chrome the "Speed King," According to New Study

Early on in the browser wars, one of the key advantages Mozilla's Firefox held over Microsoft's Internet Explorer was performance. Most would agree that Firefox remains the snappier browser out of the two, but it's Google's recently released Chrome browser that can boast the title of Speed King, according to benchmark results published by ExtremeTech.

What's interesting to note is that Chrome didn't just whiz by the competition in a single benchmark, but edged out Firefox, IE, Opera, and Safari in a multitude of tests covering web loading times, JavaScript, Flash, overall compatibility, and more. With few exceptions, Chrome kept coming out ahead, sometimes by a significant margin.

"Google uses its own knowledge of search and browsing habits to optimize Chrome, but Chrome is still in early development," ExtremeTech wrote in its conclusion. "It's also clear from our testing that Microsoft really needs to get IE8 out the door—IE7 not only has compatibility issues, but is substantially slower in many ways."

ExtremeTech goes on to note that Firefox 3.1 should show improved benchmark scores, but for the time being, Chrome is king, at least when it comes to speed. But who are we kidding - until Google can deliver on its promise to deliver extension support, it might not matter how fast Chrome cruises to the finish line.