Web Browsers
Web Browsers

which browser would work best with an older desktop pc running a Celeron 400MHz chip?

Hi Everyone;

As a personal project, I am helping a friend get onto the internet with an older pc running a 400MHz Celeron processor and about 512MB of RAM and running XP Pro SP2. With this condensed hardware profile in mind, which browser would work best with such an older system? While I would like to install the latest version of IE, I realize at the same token there might be the frustration of waiting for pages to load or even locking up due to insufficient system resources such as processor speed or even more importantly RAM. Perhaps there are other types and versions of browsers to better consider with older systems such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, etc., but, I am uncertain with regards to this idea.

At any rate, any tips or suggestions given here will be most appreciated.

Thank you.

George

GMartinAsked: 2010-03-27

Who is Participating?

Experts Exchange Solution brought to you by

Enjoy your complimentary solution view.

Get every solution instantly with Premium. Start your 7-day free trial.

I wear a lot of hats...

"The solutions and answers provided on Experts Exchange have been extremely helpful to me over the last few years. I wear a lot of hats - Developer, Database Administrator, Help Desk, etc., so I know a lot of things but not a lot about one thing. Experts Exchange gives me answers from people who do know a lot about one thing, in a easy to use platform." -Todd S.

LVL 14

TribusCommented: 2010-03-27

I am a fan of Firefox.

This is my recommendation on this one. You could try an older version of IE or Firefox as well. IE8 is not the default on an XP install and you can continue to use IE7 with that.

The system should be ok either way, but I understand your concerns here.

Experts Exchange Solution brought to you by

Your issues matter to us.

Facing a tech roadblock? Get the help and guidance you need from experienced professionals who care. Ask your question anytime, anywhere, with no hassle.

Start your 7-day free trial

LVL 8

davidlevans13Commented: 2010-03-27

I would just download each one. one at a time and try them. You can uninstall when finished, or leave on system, since all they do is take up HDD space.

Chrome is pretty quick to use, but I am not sure about resource hog-iness.

I use Firefox as my main browser, but mostly for the add-ons ... it seems to consume a lot of RAM when open for a while

LVL 13

lee555J5Commented: 2010-03-27

This may help with your decision
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/firefox-chrome-opera,2558.html
FF appears the best if you pay attention to the Memory Usage page. However, the big 5 browsers seem to be all over the board depending on the test.
Lee

LVL 10

yasserdCommented: 2010-03-27

This comparison might be useful:
http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/index.html

Q: Why not use Linux such as the light weight Xubuntu?

LVL 13

lee555J5Commented: 2010-03-27

Well, now, if we are going to suggest Linux...
XFCe, the gui environment in Xubuntu, is not as lightweight as people think. It is slightly lighter than both KDE and Gnome, but not by much. I would recommend Lubuntu using the LXDE gui. It is considerably "lighter" than Windows or Xubuntu. I would wait until version 10.04 in late April. http://lubuntu.net/
However, as the Asker has NOT expressed any interest in Linux, I recommend he stay with XP and use Firefox. I would recommend installing XP SP3, though.
Lee

GMartinAuthor Commented: 2010-03-28

Hi Everyone;

Thanks so much for the wide range of options to consider on this one. Since I am a Microsoft as opposed to a Linux user, I wanted to entertain the options which would be compatiable with XP SP2. However, I do appreciate the browsers used within a Linux environment being brought up. As such, I went ahead and gave some points for those options given.

Through a little tweaking with the browser like removing temp files, cookies, emptying the cache folder, etc. and improving the signal strength to the wireless, I now have IE 8 working just fine on this older pc. To do the cleanup, I used CCleaner which does a very thorough clean up of the system. With regards to the signal strength, I had to reconfigure a Linksys router used as a repeater so the SSID and Channels matched up with the primary Belkin router. I also attached a parabolic shaped attachment to the transmitting attenae of the primary router made entired of aluminum foil. This idea was obtained from a video clip on YouTube.com.

Thanks again everyone for the help.

George