• On TechRepublic: 10 cool USB flash drive tricks
September 2, 2008 4:47 PM PDT

Chrome tops IE, Firefox in Acid3 test

by Harrison Hoffman

Google's Chrome gets a 78 out of 100 on the Acid3 test

Google's Chrome browser is outperforming the latest "stable" builds of both Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer 7 in the popular Acid3 test. The Acid test, for those who do not know, tests how well a browser complies with a given set of Web standards. While all three browsers pass the Acid2 test, Chrome currently clocks in at 78 out of 100 on Acid3, while Firefox and IE7 stand at 71 and 14 respectively. The only release quality build to beat Chrome is Opera, which scores an 83.

Even though Google has the stable builds edged out, we have to remember that Chrome is still in development, where it is topped by a number of other "unstable," development builds, including Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 (85), Opera (91), and Safari 4 (100). It is interesting that the Safari 4 Developer Preview performs so much better than Chrome, given that they are both built on Apple's WebKit framework.

Whenever a new browser or an update to a browser is released, one of the first things that techies tend to look at is how it fares on the Acid test. The latest iteration of the test, Acid3, is the hardest yet and no "stable" browser builds have achieved a 100 out of 100 on the test, although the Safari 4 Developer Preview has.

Passing the Acid3 test is an important goal for browser developers and it's great to see that Chrome is performing so well on its first attempt.

Update:
A reader, Benjamin, writes in saying that under Vista SP1, Chrome shows scores ranging from 74 to 79 on the Acid3 test. Running it again right now, the test showed a score of a 79. Some of the initial variability could have been due to the servers for the Acid3 test being hammered as a result of Chrome's release.

Originally posted at The Web Services Report
Harrison Hoffman is a tech enthusiast and co-founder of LiveSide.net, a blog about Windows Live. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Recent posts from The Download Blog
Official NASA app and a hovercraft racing game: iPhone apps of the week
Popular iPhone movie app flops on BlackBerry
Must-have utilities for your Windows toolkit
Opera Mobile 10 beta browser: First Look video
Doom, Command & Conquer revived for iPhone
Mozilla's e-mail group looks toward the cloud
Seven essential free software apps for a new PC
Near-final Thunderbird 3 due next week
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (14 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by MadKiwi September 2, 2008 7:47 PM PDT
If you want to see a browser actually pass the Acid 3 test, try Safari 4 beta...
Reply to this comment
by Goodbye Helicopter September 2, 2008 7:57 PM PDT
Well, of course it tops IE and FireFox in the Acid3 test!
It gets this ability from WebKit.
Safari and KHTML do the same as a result of WebKit.
Kiss Gecko good bye...
Reply to this comment
by pjk0 September 2, 2008 8:39 PM PDT
Once again, Cnet stumps for Google.

What would have been _truly_ newsworthy would have been: "Opera tops ALL OTHER BROWSERS on Acid3 test", with a subtitle "Including heavily-hyped Google Chrome beta". But instead, the headline suffers from selective memory and Google-itis.

This bias seems to be getting worse and worse under the new Cnet management.
Reply to this comment
by Jack K1 September 2, 2008 8:54 PM PDT
It all depends on where you stand, I suppose. Some folks see the winner of a two man race as coming in "second to last". Others see this year's recovery of the arctic ice after its record low last year as "second worst on record."

The reality is: "Opera is fastest." The person who comes in first in a two man race is "the winner", and the arctic ice is "showing signs of recovery" this year.

I'm convinced that journalism students are trained to skirt liable, slander, and reality with equal ease. That's OK, though. The world is passing them by. Bye!

Jack
by AppleSuxLeo September 14, 2008 2:09 PM PDT
I heard C-net is having a fire sale.
by SeizeCTRL September 2, 2008 8:43 PM PDT
I actually scored a 79 on the Acid3 test with Chrome. Interesting... why would the same browser score differently?
Reply to this comment
by MaLvaDo39 September 2, 2008 9:21 PM PDT
Where is the Safari comparison?
Reply to this comment
by MaLvaDo39 September 2, 2008 9:28 PM PDT
oop, posted that in the wrong page.... sorry.
by lestatdelc September 2, 2008 11:22 PM PDT
Ah... excuse me... Apple's Safari 3.2.1 passes the Acid3 test with 100/100 and has been the stable build for a while now. Also worth noting, Safari 4 beta passes it as well.
Reply to this comment
by harrisonh1 September 2, 2008 11:59 PM PDT
@lestatdelc Since I'm not on OS X, I was going by the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid3#Desktop_browsers for information on Safari's score. It says in there that it scores a 75/100, but my mistake if that is inaccurate. I did, however, note that Safari 4 gets a 100,

"The latest iteration of the test, Acid3, is the hardest yet and no "stable" browser builds have achieved a 100 out of 100 on the test, although the Safari 4 Developer Preview has."
by timber2005 September 4, 2008 7:14 AM PDT
I'm not sure where you got 3.2.1... maybe thats the latest Mac release, but the latest Windows verion is 3.1.2, scores the same as 3.1.1, 75/100.
by CoffeeChick September 4, 2008 7:10 AM PDT
I am using Chrome now. So far I like it.... for the most part. I miss the auto fill function. I don't know the acid test.... I just know if I like it!
Reply to this comment
by AppleSuxLeo September 14, 2008 2:08 PM PDT
Chrome is Chrap ! Heap fragmentation , and keystroke logging are just a COUPLE of serious problems with Chrome.
Also a javascript test isn`t the same as loading real web pages. Chrome and FF3 both hammer the CPU and make my TV app stutter. IE8 causes no such problems and gets the job done just as fast using hardly any CPU cycles. IE8 doesn`t suffer from "heap fragmentation".
Javascript is a security nightmare. Hear all about how lousy Chrome is...http://thisweekintech.com/sn161
Reply to this comment
by vipin247 May 27, 2009 12:37 AM PDT
It's nice to c that chrome is improvising itself. But Opera 9.64 has got 85/100 during ACID3 Test.
Reply to this comment
(14 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next

Search Download Blog posts

advertisement
Click Here

About The Download Blog

Download.com editors cover the world of downloadable software and beyond.

Add this feed to your online news reader

The Download Blog topics