[RobRich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkertint

Well I'm on a 600mhz laptop with 512mb of RAM - I doubt anybody out there has a much weaker computer then that and I only notice a difference when I have like 10 tabs open. Also, the features that Maxthon have save me more time so it makes up for taking an extra half second to open a new tab.

I am not referencing UI performance. I am talking about the JS engine, which is an important component for the "Web 2.0" era.

It is apparent you have likely not encountered a browser offering a JavaScript engine with native machine code compilation, such as utilized by the Webkit SquirrelFish Extreme, Mozilla TraceMonkey, and Google V8 engines.

Install a copy of Safari 4.0 beta, latest Mozilla Minefield nightly build, or Google Chrome; then use the SunSpider benchmark to realize the difference in JS performance between a highly optimized JS engine versus Microsoft's current JS engine.

SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark

Next, just in case the immense performance disparity if not enough, examine the compatibility of the MSHTL layout engine. For this test, try the industry standard Acid3 tests. Run the tests yourself. Compare results of the MSHTML engine to results delivered by Opera or Webkit, two browsers that have already achieved 100/100 scores in Acid3 testing.

Acid3 Browser Test - The Web Standards Project

Both SunSpider and Acid3 are industry-recognized web browser tests you can do personally with a minimum of effort, and I highly encourage you to try them.