Lynx works so much faster than other browsers because it operates on a different principle.
Most browsers call for a page, which is then transferred over the 'net to your Internet provider, then on to your computer over the dial-up connection, where your computer interprets the page and shows you an image on your screen. By far, the slowest part of this chain is the connection between your computer and your provider. LYNX doesn't do this. With LYNX the page isn't transfered to your computer at all. The incoming page is downloaded only to your provider's computer and interpreted there.