Lifehacker tests Opera 10.60 beta

June 30, 2010 · by Aleksander Aas

Lifehacker ran a browser speed test with Opera 10.60 beta. Opera won both the DOM/CSS test and the startup test. Now that Opera 10.60 Final is just around the corner, we expect to see even better results next time!

Readers' comments 48

Left under the original article, as archived.

Taufiq AhmedWednesday, June 30, 2010 9:54:12 AM
appreciated. Opera is going ahead of all.
МихаилWednesday, June 30, 2010 9:55:35 AM
Rafael LuikWednesday, June 30, 2010 9:58:03 AM
I read this test yesterday , I just can't understand how they gave Internet Explorer the "best tab handle award": ok, it's apparently better than Firefox and Safari with tabs but it simply can't be compared with Opera and Chrome on tab handling, Opera manages to open and close tabs so fast...
sirnh1Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:45:13 AM
Next thing that opera should win is the "Memory Use Without Extensions" part
mistressEVILWednesday, June 30, 2010 10:59:48 AM
Awesome. I'm gonna go stand at the corner now and wait. You can line up behind me.
TamilWednesday, June 30, 2010 11:00:12 AM
vipin kumarWednesday, June 30, 2010 11:01:06 AM
I want opera to win all!!
Artur „Jurgi” JurgawkaWednesday, June 30, 2010 11:03:58 AM
Yea, nice. But instead of lighting speed I would appreciate more smaller memory footprint, to be honest.
Rafael LuikWednesday, June 30, 2010 11:11:29 AM
I prefer speed, features and more memory usage (Opera) than slowness, nothing but a window and less memory usage (Firefox).
Tri M. NguyenWednesday, June 30, 2010 11:58:56 AM
Originally posted by missevilat:

Awesome. I'm gonna go stand at the corner now and wait. You can line up behind me.

I'm right behind yah!
Virender ChopraWednesday, June 30, 2010 12:09:22 PM
hey guys here .... i have a question..
am from india and very new and impressed with opera..
so guyz can u say me which antivirus software you would perfer with opera mini..?
LucaWednesday, June 30, 2010 12:16:15 PM
Fausto johnsWednesday, June 30, 2010 12:33:45 PM
Que fino
netwolfWednesday, June 30, 2010 12:57:19 PM
Originally posted by rafaelluik:

I prefer speed, features and more memory usage (Opera) than slowness, nothing but a window and less memory usage (Firefox).

Well, on my XP system with 1 GB physical RAM, mem usage does directly influence speed: more and more data has to be read/written to/from swap file, and not only Opera but the entire system is becoming slower and slower until I restart Opera (which btw takes up to 3 minutes(!)), so reducing Opera's mem usage would most certainly improve not only the browsing experience, but the entire system performance.

Nevertheless, congrats to the DOM/CSS test results
DrillSargeWednesday, June 30, 2010 1:16:28 PM
Next Opera needs is GPU-acceleration for graphics. Look at the IETestCenter for IE9. IE9 beats all other browsers when it comes to heavy graphics rendering (I know Opera is faster at JS and other things).
Rafael LuikWednesday, June 30, 2010 1:22:22 PM
Originally posted by netwolf:

Well, on my XP system with 1 GB physical RAM, mem usage does directly influence speed: more and more data has to be read/written to/from swap file, and not only Opera but the entire system is becoming slower and slower until I restart Opera (which btw takes up to 3 minutes(!))
I only have this kind of issue if I'm running Opera in a very old system and limited RAM system, maybe you have another problem not related with Opera or you're using a poor programmed website that's making Opera go crazy... Anyway, in this same system all other web browsers run slower than Opera.

Originally posted by virender0007:

so guyz can u say me which antivirus software you would perfer with opera mini..?
for opera mini... none, a cellphone doesn't need an antivirus actually.
for my PC I use Avast!.
Charles SchlossWednesday, June 30, 2010 2:17:07 PM
Strange thing is that RC 2 was out when it was posted (RC 3 is now out)
Rafael LuikWednesday, June 30, 2010 2:19:07 PM
Originally posted by Chas4:

Strange thing is that RC 2 was out when it was posted (RC 3 is now out)
Do you really think you would see a fair web browsers comparison in this kind of website someday?
Kai OckendorfWednesday, June 30, 2010 2:55:58 PM
Originally posted by DrillSarge:

Next Opera needs is GPU-acceleration for graphics

believe in these fantastic guys & gals from Oslo! The hardest working team in the world...sure it will come
Witold BarylukWednesday, June 30, 2010 3:40:55 PM
It doesn't look so good at DOM tests http://dromaeo.com/?id=108286,108288

String processing also could be slightly improved: http://dromaeo.com/?id=108291,108292

(Opera 10.60 two days ago, and Chromium 6.0, on Linux i386).

But, I fell Opera works very well under heavy load. It is even more reponsive than Chrome. For example when updating DOM , changes are rendered immedietly in the browser, but in Chromium scripts needs to wait or end to reprocess changes in DOM structure.

Originally posted by DrillSarge:

Next Opera needs is GPU-acceleration for graphics. Look at the IETestCenter for IE9. IE9 beats all other browsers when it comes to heavy graphics rendering (I know Opera is faster at JS and other things).

It will come. Now, it is quite fast on Opera. I actually think it is fastest in Opera, not Chrome. I suspect fps counter in CHromium is cheating, it says 10fps, but I SEE that it is no more than 2fps! (really jerky animation). In Opera it says 7fps, but it is 7fps (it is much smoother than in Chromium).
■Wednesday, June 30, 2010 4:26:57 PM
Total pwnage
AuxWednesday, June 30, 2010 7:57:20 PM
I hope next version will have hardware acceleration and different rendering model - currently it is almost impossible to scroll pages with TONS of DOM elements. Using JS on such pages is totally impossible.
d4rkn1ghtWednesday, June 30, 2010 8:15:54 PM
Cutting SpoonThursday, July 1, 2010 3:10:07 AM
ESET makes an antivirus for some phones, and their antivirus for MacOS should be completed soon. But if you use Mini, you should have no real risk of virus on your phone. The native browser is much more dangerous, especially iPhoneOS Safari.
Charles SchlossThursday, July 1, 2010 3:21:38 AM
Also to add to that Cutting Spoon Safari Mobile has not good way of updating the anti-phishing database

Also on the lifehacker article:

Boot-Up and Warm Loading—Winner: Opera 10.6 Beta!
xeon0541Thursday, July 1, 2010 5:56:17 AM
waiting for opera 11 with GPU acceleration :wizard
weeericThursday, July 1, 2010 8:15:45 AM
thanks Opera for giving us the smooth and hazard- free browsing experience everyday:sing:
Cutting SpoonFriday, July 2, 2010 6:17:14 PM
"Opera is a single-threaded application currently, so Web Workers don't speed it up that much. As we develop a multithreaded version of Opera (for platforms that can support that—not every platform can) you'll notice greater speed differences between apps that use Workers and those that don't."

From the ODIN blog.
Witold BarylukSaturday, July 3, 2010 7:12:43 PM
Originally posted by hellspork:

"Opera is a single-threaded application currently, so Web Workers don't speed it up that much. As we develop a multithreaded version of Opera (for platforms that can support that—not every platform can) you'll notice greater speed differences between apps that use Workers and those that don't."

I do not think it is true at all.
weitererSunday, July 4, 2010 12:51:09 AM
For me the most important part is speed, start boot time and web page rendering. Sadly Chrome still opens faster on a cold start in my system and Opera where its very fast sometimes it doesn't respond when clicking a link for a few seconds. Im not sure if that is a bug I had this problems on several olders versions as well and on different computers with different internet connections. It sometimes just doesnt seem to respond to the connection to a server.
Abhishek ThakurMonday, July 5, 2010 10:23:35 AM
Originally posted by movax:

I do not think it is true at all.

http://my.opera.com/ODIN/blog/hello-opera-10-60
Sujit giriMonday, July 5, 2010 11:11:32 AM
I do not thik true at all.
Cutting SpoonMonday, July 5, 2010 8:06:12 PM
Originally posted by movax:

I do not think it is true at all.

http://my.opera.com/ODIN/blog/hello-opera-10-60

It's in the main body, section "Web Workers", second paragraph of that section. This was written by Developer Relations staffer Bruce Lawson, so I should hope that it is accurate.

In theory, as fast as Opera is, it could soon be MUCH faster again with the inclusion of things like hardware acceleration and multithreaded scripting, possibly even multithreaded plugin handling.
netwolfMonday, July 5, 2010 10:05:14 PM
Originally posted by hellspork:

http://my.opera.com/ODIN/blog/hello-opera-10-60

And also here in the info box: http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/web-workers-rise-up/
Cutting SpoonMonday, July 5, 2010 10:22:37 PM
I recall hearing that MP experiments began - and ended - with BeOS. Seems that WebM playback sometimes indicates ~70%+ CPU usage on my multithreaded single-core Atom N280. So maybe video takes place independently?
Witold BarylukTuesday, July 6, 2010 6:50:09 PM
Originally posted by Abhishek9102:

Originally posted by movax:

I do not think it is true at all.
http://my.opera.com/ODIN/blog/hello-opera-10-60
Bullshit.
```
/proc$ grep opera `pidof opera`/task/*/cmdline   | wc -l
9
```
9 threads!
Charles SchlossTuesday, July 6, 2010 9:11:23 PM
Opera 10.60 made it on lifehacker again:
This Week's Top Downloads
http://lifehacker.com/5579121/this-weeks-top-downloads
Sergio Palma HidalgoTuesday, July 6, 2010 10:14:19 PM
well you know...Opera rules!
thanks for this new improvements!!!
Abhishek ThakurWednesday, July 7, 2010 6:16:03 AM
Originally posted by movax:
Bullshit.
```
/proc$ grep opera `pidof opera`/task/*/cmdline   | wc -l
9
```
9 threads!
So according to your logic every single application developed to date is multithreaded ? Better get your facts straight buddy.
Cutting SpoonWednesday, July 7, 2010 6:09:04 PM
You may notice that multiple threads do not imply multi-core operation. Opera only loads one core, and the threads are not parallel.
Witold BarylukWednesday, July 7, 2010 11:48:24 PM
Originally posted by Abhishek9102:

So according to your logic every single application developed to date is multithreaded ? Better get your facts straight buddy.

Are you programmer? I'm and actually implemented few threading implementations! I know how threads works and what for they are. I know they drawbacks, limitations, overheads, and advantages also.

And straight facts are that Opera IS MULTITHREADED APPLICATION.

And yes, processes you show are multithreaded applications.

Multithreaded doesn't imply that this applications will automatically use all available cores.
Witold BarylukWednesday, July 7, 2010 11:50:07 PM
Originally posted by hellspork:

You may notice that multiple threads do not imply multi-core operation. Opera only loads one core, and the threads are not parallel.

Of course they are parallel. This is one of the main reasons threads are used generally. (second one is to have saved multiple states of the whole applicaion and easly switch beetwen them even on single cpu).

Assigning threads to core are done by the operating system (like Linux kernel or Windows kernel), not application (there is something like "thread affinity" but it is completly different story and not used anyway by Opera or any other general purpose software).

I think I can easily make my Opera use 2 cores with 100% load.
Cutting SpoonFriday, July 9, 2010 5:37:00 PM
....pics or it didn't happen? I have enough trouble making Opera use 100% of one core.
AuxMonday, July 12, 2010 9:09:31 AM
Originally posted by movax:

And straight facts are that Opera IS MULTITHREADED APPLICATION.

Just launch Process Explorer and investigate threads tab - Opera is SINGLE THREADED! At least on Windows. There are some threads spawned by OS inside Opera process, but rendering, UI and all that stuff made by Opera Software runs in a single thread.

And that SUCKS!
netwolfMonday, July 12, 2010 11:13:16 AM
Kind of funny that you still argue about singl/multithreaded even after Opera devs themselfes clearly stated that there are certain limitations due to the fact that Opera is currently a single-threaded application.
Well, just go on, it's amusing to read
Cutting SpoonMonday, July 12, 2010 5:25:46 PM
^^^My sentiments.

They've mentioned before that separating the processes would incur its own interprocess overhead, and pushing hardware acceleration introduces lag between the CPU and GPU. Not to mention that multiprocess apps are not necessarily very secure, due to the framework that ties them into a single interface.

Given Opera's very solid performance with many tabs on a single core (Contrasted with many Chrome tabs on multicore), it would take much incentive to change the company's thinking.
Witold BarylukWednesday, July 14, 2010 2:23:09 AM
Originally posted by netwolf:

Kind of funny that you still argue about singl/multithreaded even after Opera devs themselfes clearly stated that there are certain limitations due to the fact that Opera is currently a single-threaded application.

As i said. BullShit. It is multithreaded application. (At least on Linux. I'm not an expert about Windows). I have proofs, and I know it. The fact the it is multithreads doesn't mean it will use all cores. It all depends on many other and dependend factors.
prd3Wednesday, July 14, 2010 11:36:16 AM
Originally posted by Jurgi:

Yea, nice. But instead of lighting speed I would appreciate more smaller memory footprint, to be honest.

Except Opera dynamically adapts to the system. It has more advanced memory handling than other browsers.

Originally posted by movax:

9 threads!

You are making assumptions. Opera only uses threads for specific things, probably plugins or something. The rest of Opera, the browser itself, is not multi-threaded.

I think Opera's own developer team knows better than some random guy in a blog...