Aota.net Forums faster with Firefox than IE: How is this possible?

[songdog]

I've noticed that IE seems to download many of the button images every time I come to the Forums home page. So it takes a couple seconds to load everything.

But Firefox only downloads the images after I clear the browser cache. Subsequent times it must get all the graphics from cache, because the page loads almost instantaneously.

Even if I set IE to never "Check for newer versions of stored pages", it still takes it a couple seconds to display all the button images.

Can anyone explain how this is possible? Has Firefox really gotten that fast?? Is the Forums page using some kind of strange markup that impairs IE? [yeah, I know one could argue: "yes, the page is using a special kind of markup that IE has trouble rendering: standards-compliant HTML!]


I've never known (the Windows version of) IE to be slower than other (Windows) browsers. I'm running IE 6.0.2800.1106 with all patches, and Firefox 0.9.3. Windows 2000 Pro SP4 on a 750 MHz P3 is the platform, and Internet access is Comcast at approx 3 Mb/sec download speed.

[small edit to remove extra word in 1st paragraph]

[Terra]

FireFox definitely sucks less than Microsoft IE...

amen

--
Terra
--standards? Even our laws are interpreted differently depending which judge you get... Heck, there is even dissension with Supreme Court rulings--
FutureQuest

[Randall]

You're not the only one who's seeing that effect (though apparently some people aren't):

http://www.aota.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=17502

From what I'm seeing here, it looks like the new menus are causing this. The images don't render until after the menus are displayed, which is unusual -- normally the menus would be the last to arrive.

It may not even be a caching issue. The images could very well be in the cache already, but the menu delay makes it seem like they aren't.

Which would suggest that the limiting factor isn't bandwidth -- it's CPU speed and IE's rendering engine. I'm using a 450MHz machine at the moment.

Randall

[Jarrod]

Yep I can see the same in IE. And as others have observed I also don't believe it's bandwidth or caching. The images get displayed in a wave going left to right, top to bottom. Normally with bandwidth/caching you get images popping up all over the place, as they get downloaded.

it's CPU speed and IE's rendering engine. I'm using a 450MHz machine at the moment

Don't think It's CPU speed. It's showing the same on a 1600Mhz Athlon.

Jarrod

[Randall]

Don't think It's CPU speed. It's showing the same on a 1600Mhz Athlon.

It might still influence the rendering speed relative to another PC -- Andi and Jeff didn't think the effect was perceptible. Andi has a 2.3GHz machine, and Jeff's running some kind of insane dual-Xeon setup.

Randall

[Bob]

Ok... I resisted all day BUT I can't help myself any longer...

Everytime I see this thread title I hear that very annoying voice of Princess Alia Atreides from the Movie Dune saying "How is this possible"...

Not sure which is worse hearing her voice over and over OR "They are coming to take me away Ha Ha, They are coming to take me away Ho Ho Hee Hee Ha Ha..."

-Bob

- Sometimes I just can't help my synapses... -

[PaulKroll]

(Writing note to self) send... decaf... to... Bob...
- How is this possible?

[LightGuide]

Originally posted by Terra:
FireFox definitely sucks less than Microsoft IE...

I beg to differ, on the basis of observational vectors. Thus:

IE sucks far more effectively than FF.

etLux

[Andilinks]

[Randall]

Aw c'mon Andi, that one's too easy. The answer? Bribery.

(The return of the Cheshire Cat makes me feel like I'm in a time warp.)

Randall

Oh yeah, almost forgot: Hi Bob.