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sports fan Matt
November 14th, 2009, 01:26 AM
Is there much of a speed difference? And what addons work with the versions?

(I know with Firefox 3.7 I had issues trying to type in the search box)

squilookle
November 14th, 2009, 01:52 AM
I can't even get 3.7 to run. I just got 3.6b2 running (the first one crashed as soon as it started) and its fast enough.

I'm not even sure if theres a notable difference between 3.6b2and 3.5. Don't get me wrong: the faster the better, but I have no complaints about the speed of 3.5. Maybe I'll notice something after I've used it for a while.

But so far, so good.

slumbergod
November 14th, 2009, 02:00 AM
I didn't try 3.7 but when I installed 3.6b2 I found it to be more or less the same as 3.5.x, which is plenty fast enough for me anyway. It's only the slow startup that is a bit long but considering I only start it once a day that isn't really an issue either.

I also tried Chrome and I didn't think that was any faster either.

perfectska04
November 14th, 2009, 02:21 AM
I didn't try 3.7 but when I installed 3.6b2 I found it to be more or less the same as 3.5.x, which is plenty fast enough for me anyway. It's only the slow startup that is a bit long but considering I only start it once a day that isn't really an issue either.

I also tried Chrome and I didn't think that was any faster either.

I agree, on a regular desktop - the performance difference is hardly noticeable between all the current offerings; it's often best to choose the most stable release. Firefox takes a bit longer to start up and shut down, though.

However, I can't say the same for underpowered hardware, such as netbooks. The difference between Firefox and Chromium is like night and day, specially for the more complex websites and when dealing with multiple tabs.

wilee-nilee
November 14th, 2009, 02:29 AM
Generally you can force the add-ons to work, the easiest way is the add-on nightly tester tools.

lovinglinux
November 14th, 2009, 02:51 AM
generally you can force the add-ons to work, the easiest way is the add-on nightly tester tools.

+1

wojox
November 14th, 2009, 03:04 AM
I compiled 3.7 about a month ago. I keep switching around for the latest and greatest. Tried Opera and Chrome. Always come back to Firefox in the repo's. I think what helps is just to configure it properly. Lovinglinux's Firefox optimization page is a great tutorial to keep it running lean and mean.

phrostbyte
November 14th, 2009, 03:24 AM
Firefox 3.6 is at least 2x faster with JavaScript performance on 64-bit Ubuntu (vs 3.5). This is because the 64-bit Firefox 3.5 (or below) lacks a JavaScript compiler. There isn't much of any difference in the 32-bit versions however.

lovinglinux
November 14th, 2009, 04:23 AM
There isn't much of any difference in the 32-bit versions however.

Perhaps on fast machines with dual core, but in my setup (P4) there is a considerable difference. I did some tests with 3.6a1 compiled with optimization flags and it got 10% better performance on Peacekeeper benchmark. Nevertheless, the most important difference was that 3.6.a1 was able to play flash video much better than 3.5, almost without stuttering.

phrostbyte
November 14th, 2009, 05:00 AM
Perhaps on fast machines with dual core, but in my setup (P4) there is a considerable difference. I did some tests with 3.6a1 compiled with optimization flags and it got 10% better performance on Peacekeeper benchmark. Nevertheless, the most important difference was that 3.6.a1 was able to play flash video much better than 3.5, almost without stuttering.

Fair enough, 10% is not within my subjective opinion of significant. :) If you compare the 64-bit version of 3.5, and 3.6, you may notice a ~250% improvement.

lovinglinux
November 14th, 2009, 05:41 AM
Fair enough, 10% is not within my subjective opinion of significant. :) If you compare the 64-bit version of 3.5, and 3.6, you may notice a ~250% improvement.

I agree with you, but as I said, the major difference is when playing flash. I guess I find 10% significant, because I have been optimizing Firefox for a long time and a 250% improvement from where I'm now would be a miracle :)

To understand what I'm talking about, I started optimizing Firefox 3.0 just after Jaunty release, when I was getting 220 points in the Peacekeeper benchmark and ended up with 1100 on 3.6.a1. You can see my benchmark chart and optimization techniques at Firefox optimization and troubleshooting thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1193567).

phrostbyte
November 14th, 2009, 08:30 AM
I agree with you, but as I said, the major difference is when playing flash. I guess I find 10% significant, because I have been optimizing Firefox for a long time and a 250% improvement from where I'm now would be a miracle :)

To understand what I'm talking about, I started optimizing Firefox 3.0 just after Jaunty release, when I was getting 220 points in the Peacekeeper benchmark and ended up with 1100 on 3.6.a1. You can see my benchmark chart and optimization techniques at Firefox optimization and troubleshooting thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1193567).

That's a really good writeup. :)

lovinglinux
November 14th, 2009, 03:01 PM
That's a really good writeup. :)

Thank you.