![]() ![]() Subjectively, it "feels" fast, which might be the advantages of 64-bit operation. Chrome held a consistent edge, but Waterfox is fast, too. Raw speed tests with CNET's Bandwidth Meter produced much closer results. Waterfox bested Firefox but not Chrome, both in speed and HTML5-rendering capability, though the results were close enough to make it a matter of choice. This online benchmarking tool separates the smartphones from the gaming desktops with a series of increasingly grueling tests that took some 5 minutes to run through. For the most revealing results, we threw Peacekeeper's HTML5 torture test at each, pitting Waterfox against the site's Chrome benchmark and our own copy of Chrome. We could tell with just a few quick trips to familiar sites that Waterfox is fast, so we visited some of our favorite browser speed test sites to see how it stacks up against the competition, including Firefox and our current default, Chrome. Our add-ons, extensions, and plug-ins worked in Waterfox, too, including Microsoft's Office and Silverlight plug-ins. Otherwise, Waterfox looks and functions like Firefox, including its various customizable features and options. Waterfox has a family resemblance to other Mozilla-based browsers, with a dark blue Start button instead of Firefox's orange. When it comes to looks and extras, Waterfox doesn't disappoint in a side-by-side comparison with the latest Firefox release. When we first opened Waterfox, it displayed our bookmarks and other personal data from Firefox. As the Waterfox Web site states, speed is its mission. Just converting Mozilla's source code for 64-bit Windows doesn't do enough to make Waterfox stand apart from Firefox and other Firefox-based Web browsers other unique tweaks help it exploit the speed of 64-bit systems. Software designed for 64-bit Windows editions can take advantage of faster RAM and processing speeds and greater stability in 64-bit systems. ![]() The browser's developers modified the Firefox source code specifically for machines running 64-bit versions of Windows. However if you’re expecting the fact Waterfox is 64-bit to cure existing issues with Firefox primarily concerning performance and memory-munching, I seriously doubt anyone who uses it will notice any significant difference.Waterfox is a 64-bit version of Firefox. Add-ons that work in regular Firefox seem to work in Waterfox with no issues, so that’s good. It’s a good 64-bit browser, and the nice part is that it operates using the same profile as your existing Firefox installation as far as I can tell. Like I said, smaller teams of programmers just don’t have the time and resource larger teams do. No, this is not an accusation of laziness whatsoever. In other words, they “get to it when they get to it”. Why? Because unofficial builds of browsers are released by small teams that don’t have the resources the major providers have. And sometimes this can take weeks or even months for this to happen. Whatever team is building the unofficial build receives a notice from the official provider, they compile a version, then release – but it’s always after that major provider releases it first. ![]() Major browsers release security updates quickly should any problems be discovered, and the unofficial builds are always second in line for them. Using unofficial builds of browsers is not exactly a good idea Yes, this does mean by having the three tabs open of webmail, Facebook and Netflix that Waterfox will explode up to half-a-gig of memory use just by sitting there just like Firefox does. The way the engine works just explodes in memory use by nature. That’s not fixed, and that’s not Waterfox’s fault at all. This is Firefox we’re talking aboutīeing that Waterfox is Firefox in 64-bit flavor, it still has the exact same memory-munching problem Firefox does. Startup and shutdown would show no major difference in speed. Document load time – especially over a network – would only be slightly faster on 64-bit (meaning you really wouldn’t notice any significant difference). ![]() Think of it this way: Would you notice a difference between a 32-bit Microsoft Word and a 64-bit Microsoft Word? Nope. You can benchmark-benchmark-benchmark all day long and spout out numbers-numbers-numbers, but the fact of the matter is that in practical use, you will notice little to no difference in performance compared to a 32-bit browser. In a browser application, 64-bit at this point really hasn’t proven to be any better than the 32-bit flavors. Now if we’re talking about, say, a video editing suite that requires gobs and gobs of memory to crunch and render video data faster, then oh yes, 64-bit is better because that architecture can process and access everything quicker. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |