Yeah, browsers using Direct2D are much faster than GDI ones. IE9 Dev. preview is.
So are current Firefox nightlies...
- To test IE9 preview: go here and download http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/
If you have Vista, you'll need SP2, the Platform Update and IE 8 installed.
- To test Firefox 3.7 nightlies: go here and download http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/latest-trunk/
Same as IE 9, you'll need Vista SP2 + Platform Update (but not IE 8). You also need to go in about: config, switch gfx.font_rendering.directwrite.enabled to true, and mozilla.widget.render-mode to 6.
Warning: if you normally use older versions of Firefox, the last setting will have to be reverted or you'll get blank pages.