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On my desktop, which runs Windows XP SP2 with IE 8, LinkedIn takes ages to load. However, with Chrome, it loads comparitively quicker. However, on my laptop which runs Windows Vista with IE8, it is awesomely quick!

What could be the reasons?

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Have you tried running IE8 on the problematic XP machine with add-ons disabled? (Start-->All Programs-->Accessories-->System Tools-->Internet Explorer (No Add-ons)) – techie007 Dec 31 '09 at 15:08
If it turns out that this also counts for other websites, you should edit your question to ask why your browser is so slow, not a particular website – Ivo Flipse♦ Apr 28 '10 at 6:43
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closed as off topic by ChrisF, Ivo Flipse♦ Apr 28 '10 at 6:42

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2 Answers

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Try using Fiddler2 and see if that can identify the problem area

Fiddler2 Web SIte

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There are many factors that could be making a certain website run slow on different hardware and software.

Your XP machine, did you purchase it with XP on it? If yes, it's probably at least a few years older than your Vista machine which means that it could quite possibliy have only one CPU core. The machine may also have a lower amount of memory, and you stated that it's running Service Pack 2, not the latest SP3. These factors itself can effect how a browser renders a website as it downloads.

Second, you've got two different browsers on the same machine. Chrome vs. IE8. Chrome has an entirely different way of rendering HTML, it's based on the WebKit engine from Apple's Safari browser. Big difference in that aspect. Next Chrome also has a very new Javascript engine which much faster than IE8's javascript engine. Both of those factors means that Chrome will give you the perception of being much much faster than IE8 on the same machine.

Last, you're comparing an operating system first built in 2001 to an operating system that was released in 2007 on a laptop which probably has dual cores, more memory, faster hard drive etc. Because of the hardware, and the operating system, IE8 will have the perception of running faster or opening up pages faster than your XP machine yet with the same browser installed.

I can testiy that what you're experiencing is quite normal since I have a Dell Optiplex from 2003 running XP SP3 with IE8 and a Dell Latitude D620 with Vista and IE8. The Latitude has dual cores and the twice the memory and renders websites faster than the XP machine.

Recommendation, I wouldn't worry too much about the rendering speeds. Use Chrome on XP if it's faster, or if need be use your laptop with IE8. Hope this helps you some.

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