Computer Related > Firefox v Internet Explorer Miscellaneous
Thread Author: scousehonda Replies: 14

 Firefox v Internet Explorer - scousehonda
I don't know whether it is just my PC playing up but, as a committed fan of Firefox as my default browser I have had much inconvenience over this past weekend. My system has been painfully slow and the fan(s) in the box of tricks has (have) been working overtime. I had a look at the Task Manager a couple of times and the CPU usage was 100% for much of the time (I understand that, ideally, it should hover around 0 - 5%).

This afternoon I decided to give Internet Explorer another try and, lo and behold, everything was wonderful again. The system was lightning fast and the CPU reading was 2-3%.

Is it likely to be a problem with Firefox (in which case presumably others will have had similar problems) or is just that my Dell desktop is no longer able to handle Firefox as opposed to Internet Explorer?
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Manatee
No such problem even with 16 tabs open.

Firefox is I believe more economical with memory than IE8 which should mean less 'work' if anything.

Maybe try re-installing, or updating to 3.6 if you haven't already?
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Focusless
>> Is it likely to be a problem with Firefox

Don't know, but might be worth having a look at
support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+consumes+a+lot+of+CPU+resources
to check the basics.
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Focusless
A number of problems reported with 3.6.2 on the Mozilla support forums:
support.mozilla.com/en-US/forum/1

I don't know how many they usually get with a new release ie. whether this release is worse than normal.
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Manatee
Good call Focus - there's even a post from somebody with the identical problem, using 3.6. Scratch the suggestion to upgrade :-(
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - scousehonda
Focus (and others)

Many thanks for the feedback. I never thought to look at the Mozilla site. Interesting to see others with pretty much the same complaint as mine. I did download 3.6.2 following the scare from Germany (they wouldn't be trying it on would they in retaliation for 1966 or 39-45).

I think I'll let Firefox lie dormant for a few weeks.

I must say that I am mightily impressed with the latest version of IE. Miles better than earlier incarnations.
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Zero
Firefox is not the best Browser out there by a long way. For everyday use chrome takes some beating
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 29 Mar 10 at 22:07
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Manatee
>> Firefox is not the best Browser out there by a long way. For everyday use
>> chrome takes some beating
>>

Can't disagree as I only tried chrome for a few minutes when it came out. What makes it good?

I like FF add ins, especially Adblock and Forecastfox. goo.gl lite goo.gl/BkMJ is handy as well.
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Zero
chrome is very fast and takes little resources. The early versions were a bit flakey but its pretty rock solid now and its really nice to use.
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Focusless
>> chrome is very fast and takes little resources.

I see they've now got linux versions - tried the Fedora one (I'm using CentOS which is Redhat based) but wouldn't install due to a dependency issue. I'll try again in a few weeks :(
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - lancara
I've had the same slow-down, etc. with IE8 running on Vista during the past week - I think it was one of MS's updates. I system restored back to a week ago, and it seems to have cured the problem
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Roger.
Chrome is spyware!
Use SRWare Iron if you like the Chromium experoence
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - MD
Landy. I've been telling 'em for weeks now. They no risten (Benny Hill)

Iron was written, if that is the correct terminology, by the Chrome people, BUT without the crap. Works for me.

Best regards.............MD
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - Stuartli
New Firefox version (3.6.3) not long out.

I find FF to be very quick indeed, especially after using SpeedyFox.
Last edited by: Stuartli on Sat 3 Apr 10 at 20:25
 Firefox v Internet Explorer - merlin
Thanks for the advice MD. I switched from Chrome to Iron tonight. Iron definitely feels faster. Having flash and adware blocked probably helps and it's good to see sites without all the ads.
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