Take that, Mozilla, Microsoft, Opera, and Apple. Google’s kicking your butt when it comes to making the fastest browser in terms of real-world use.

OK, now that that’s out of the way, here’s the gist: Over at Compuware, the benchmark crew conducted some tests in an effort to determine which browser is the fastest in terms of everyday use. According to TechCrunch, the tests determined which browser loaded pages the fastest, based on a broadband connection:

The data, collected over a one-month time frame, captured the results of 1.86 billion individual measurements on over 200 websites. The results of the test? No surprise here – the winner is Google Chrome.

Another test studied how fast a loaded page became visible on the browser in question. This goes beyond mere page-loading. Displaying the the loaded data was the test subject. While Chrome was once again strong here, the winner of this portion was Firefox.

The posted findings indicate content became visible on a Firefox browser in 2.18 seconds, while Chrome took 2.374 seconds.

When Compuware tested these browsers, they used multiple versions of each. For instance, the Chrome tests were performed on 10, 11, and 12. Of course, Google has since updated Chrome to version 13, and it was not included in these benchmarks. When looking at Compuware’s chart, seen in the lead image, even with updated versions, both Internet Explorer and Safari were consistently slower than Google or Mozilla. Granted, the newer editions reduced their load times–especially noticeable when comparing Safari 4 to 5–but both still trailed their competitors.

Concerning the tests themselves, TechCrunch offered the following disclaimer:

To be clear, Gomez doesn’t test browser speed capabilities in a lab environment, it measures real-world performance – that is, a measurement of how the population actually experiences web browser performance. Traditionally, this data has been used by businesses that want to test their web applications after deployment.

Over at NetMarketShare, the browser breakdown is about what you’d expect:

People, for some reason, are still unwilling to leave the Internet Explorer’s bosom. Apparently, there’s comfort in familiarity, regardless if it reduces the quality, or, at least the speed, of a browsing experience. Whatever the case, for those who prefer comfort, there are others who prefer speed. In that instance, at least for now, Firefox and Chrome are the clear winners.