When it comes to Web browsing on your Windows 8 tablet, chances are you've already picked your favorite browser to do the job. However, you may be really missing out. The best browsers can increase your surfing experience with fast speeds, comprehensive standards support and intuitive navigation. We place the three leading browsers for Windows 8's "Metro" mode -- Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer -- towards the test to determine what one will last best.

Round 1: Interface (30 points)

From button placement to changing tabs, your browser's layout is prime to how quickly and comfortably you are able to surf the net.

Chrome for Windows 8's Metro mode simulates a Chrome OS desktop, with the familiar browser layout open like a window accompanied by app icons for Gmail, Google search, Docs and YouTube in a taskbar at the bottom. In addition to the surrounding desktop, Google's browser for Metro mode isn't any not the same as its desktop version, with navigation icons and the URL bar positioned at the top.

Both Internet Explorer and Firefox in Metro mode place the navigation panel at the end for easier access with your thumbs. Internet Explorer's navigation panel is sort of cluttered, with buttons for Back, Refresh, Tabs, Favorites and Settings sitting along a URL and check bar. Firefox employs a cleaner approach, with only Back, Favorites, Pin and Options buttons next to its Awesome Bar (URL and check field).

These bottom panels both in Firefox and Internet Explorer auto-hide so that you can enjoy full-screen viewing. However, Firefox goes a step further to make things easier and prettier by overlaying translucent Back and New Tab buttons on the right and left of the screen which means you do not have to leave a complete screen simply to open a new tab.

All three browsers support swiping left and right to move through back and forward through visited pages.

Ie and Firefox both helpfully suggest sites you might be looking for while you enter a URL or keyword within the address bar, which answers are tiled just above the field so you can easily tap them. But when you are looking at scrolling through the tabs you have open, Internet Explorer has the edge, displaying them just over the address bar whenever you hit Tabs while Firefox docks them at the top of the screen.

Each time you open a new tab, Firefox displays a pretty speed dial of the recent, favorite pages as well as your most frequented bookmarks which means you do not have to spend your time typing URLs. Ie suggests frequent sites, only within a black panel above the keyboard, which affords it less space.

When it comes to switching between Desktop and Metro modes, Firefox provides the most seamless transition. It is simple to re-launch the browser inside your preferred format by tapping the Options button near the Awesome Bar, as well as your open tabs are preserved if you switch. Chrome provides easy access to the re-launch tool, nevertheless its tiny interface makes the option hard to find, nor browser maintains your open tabs. Internet Explorer maintains two different and unrelated browsers simultaneously, one for desktop and something for Metro.

Winner: Firefox. We like the straightforward navigation panel, the helpful new tab page and the seamless switching between desktop and Metro modes.

Round 2: Speed (30 points)

Though the performance of your Net connection and your CPU do more to determine your overall surfing speed, your browser also has a role to experience.

While using Numion website loading stopwatch tool, we measured just how long it took each browser to load NYTimes.com and Laptopmag.com. In between each round of tests, carried out on the same Windows 8.1 tablet (Acer Iconia W4) within the same Wi-Fi connection, we cleared the cache for every browser.

Across all of the different pages, Firefox consistently emerged as the speediest browser. It fully loaded NYTimes.com and Laptopmag.com within an average of 3.21 seconds and 4.85 seconds, respectively. Internet Explorer came in second overall, pushing the same sites through in an average of 4.17 seconds and 5.41 seconds. Chrome brought up the trunk, displaying NYTimes.com and Laptopmag.com in five.06 seconds and 6.94 seconds.

Firefox also proved fastest within the SunSpider JavaScript speed test. Scoring 573.6 milliseconds on average, the open-source browser just beat Internet Explorer (576.8 ms average) and Chrome (598.6 ms average).

Chrome took charge in HTML5 loading speeds, however, beating others on Peacekeeper using its score of 1,156. Firefox followed with 879, while Internet Explorer delivered a poorer 672.

On more taxing tasks, such as rendering an intricate WebGL (Web Graphics Language) environment, Firefox lost its result in Chrome. While Firefox maintained 45 fps with 50 fish and 41 fps with 100 fish within the tank simulation (Chrome got 40 / 39 fps), Google's browser pulled ahead when 250 fish were added too this mixture, providing 37 fps against Firefox's 32 fps. Internet Explorer delivered a poorer 43 fps at 50 fish, 39 fps at 100 fps along with a weak 29 fps with 250 fish.

While Chrome delivered better Peacekeeper scores, the app's performance was unfortunately clunky and glitchy during our testing. This means that while HTML5-heavy pages may load faster on Chrome, you'll spend a lot time attempting to open tabs since the overall experience is frustratingly slow.

Winner: Firefox. Blazing page loading speeds and overall faster performance makes this app the Flash from the browser world.

Round 3: Special Features (20 points)

Since Chrome for Windows 8 is actually the desktop form of the browser bundled with Google's OS, you get access to a world of a lot more than 30,000 apps, extensions and add-ons which make your browser more feature-rich. There is also tab indicators to show you, instantly, which of your pages is making noise or playing a video.

Because of the mobile environment, though, the usefulness of those features is questionable. Each Chrome tab is tiny with an 8-inch tablet's screen, and the indicator symbols become minuscule and difficult to see. (The knowledge on larger screens is more comfortable.) You're also less likely to utilize a Chrome Web app for example Pixlr Photo Editor when you are able use Photoshop Express along with other full-fledged programs in your device.

Both Ie and Firefox offer useful special features, such as Don't Track to signal to servers not to record your presence. While all three browsers may be used in Windows 8.1's split screen mode, only Internet Explorer could be docked alongside with another window of itself. This is particularly useful for instances when you want to compare two different cinema listings, for example. You can't do that with Chrome or Firefox.

Ie, not surprisingly, boasts comprehensive native integration. You can pin specific sites to your Start screen like a Live Tile to obtain notifications once the Web site is updated, split the display between as much as four windows for side-by-side browsing and simply call numbers on websites with Skype Click to Call. A built-in Reading List app lets you save pages and browse them when you have time later. Microsoft's browser also has a Flip ahead feature that lets you scroll through parts of a multi-page article by swiping from the right side from the screen to go to the following page.

Ie 11 includes Flash installed out-of-the-box which means you don't have to feel the troublesome procedure for loading the plug-in for yourself. The browser may also detect your gyroscope so you can use websites that make utilisation of the hardware just like an application. However, few sites actually make use of this feature.

Winner: Ie. It's no wonder that the default browser comes packed with excellent device integration, and we especially like being able to view two websites side by side.

Round 4: Standards Support (15 points)

The extent that a browser supports various Web standards can greatly impact just how much you enjoy your preferred sites. A good browser will be able to interpret and display most Web languages or plug-ins such as HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript to be able to notice a page the way a developer intended.

We put all three browsers via a series of tests to determine how good they supported common Web standards.

Chrome separated itself when it came to HTML5 support, scoring 505 out of 555 on the HTML5test.com benchmark. This test checks to see if your browser is capable of displaying common HTML5 features, such as drag-and-drop, graphics rendering, geolocation and device orientation.

Firefox arrived second with 458, while Internet Explorer delivered only 372. Internet Explorer also met just five of seven HTML5 capabilities around the Peacekeeper test where Firefox and Chrome both met all seven.

Chrome also did well on CSS3 support, scoring 60 percent around the CSS3 make sure beating Firefox (58 percent) and Internet Explorer (53 percent).

Thanks to its support of the Lazyload tag, Internet Explorer 11 may also let developers lower the priority of the item, keeping unwanted items like ads from blocking up bandwidth while you load a site.

Winner: Chrome. Google's browser better supports common Web standards, with Firefox arriving a detailed second.

Round 5: Syncability (15 points)

Often, you want to move from your mobile device for your desktop for a fuller reading experience, but transferring your many open tabs could be troublesome. Thankfully, all three browsers allow you to sync your articles across devices so you won't have to manually search for the specific site you were reading. Some browsers do this better, bookmarking your last position on the page so that you can pick up exactly where you left off.

With Chrome, simply sign into your Google account to pull your open tabs across various linked devices. You can decide to open pages by clicking Recent Tabs underneath the Options button, which saves not only pages which are open on connected systems but additionally a full browsing good reputation for the past 4 months. You may also search this log, arranged in chronological order, so looking for that certain page you visited that one time a good obscure topic is easy.

Firefox Sync's setup process is sort of tedious. You'll have to sign in for your Firefox account through the browser within the desktop environment. The browser generates three sets of short codes, which you'll want to have to enter the unit you want to connect to your account. Dealing with the page to input these codes takes a number of steps, which is troublesome.

Once you've went through setup process, Firefox lets you sync your add-ons, bookmarks, history, tabs and preferences, and save passwords. It is a nifty feature since you do not possess to retype passwords into pages you've already signed into - Firefox Sync remembers and fills those fields in for you. Unfortunately, you won't have the ability to sync your open tabs. The feature also fails properly if you have beta and production versions of Firefox installed on the same device.

You are able to only sync content on Internet Explorer across Windows 8.1 devices, which limits the usefulness of this feature. It is also tedious to setup; you'll need to enable Web Browser synchronized Settings in each of your Windows 8.1 devices after you have signed into them. We'd prefer having the ability to sign into and pull open tabs and preferences from Internet Explorer itself instead of having to dig into the pits of Microsoft's settings.

Once your devices are set up, though, the interface for IE is rather simple. Just click the drop-down arrow alongside Tabs whenever you open a new tab and you may open any page out of your connected devices.

Winner: Chrome. An easy sign-in process without the need to create a separate account should you already are a user of Google's other services gives Chrome the edge. A comprehensive backlog of visited pages is another plus.

Verdict

Speedy loading time, a clear interface and good support for standards make Firefox our top browser for Windows 8.1's Modern environment. While Chrome has better support for Web standards and much easier syncing capabilities, it desperately needs a touch-optimized interface. Also, throughout our testing, Chrome was undoubtedly the glitchiest browser, often crashing or refusing to join up our touch.

Like Firefox, Internet Explorer includes a touch-friendly interface also it adds the benefit of having the ability to launch more than one Metro window, but slower speeds, worse standards support along with a completely separate desktop browser hold it back. Bottom line: You can't go wrong with Mozilla's browser for the Windows 8.1 device.