Deciding between HttpClient and WebClient

Question

Our web app is running in .Net Framework 4.0. The UI calls controller methods through ajax calls.

We need to consume REST service from our vendor. I am evaluating

Answer 1

Firstly, I am not an authority on WebClient vs. HttpClient, specifically. Secondly, from your comments above, it seems to suggest that WebClient is Sync ONLY whereas HttpClient is both.

I did a quick performance test to find how WebClient (Sync calls), HttpClient (Sync and Async) perform. and here are the results.

I see that as a huge difference when thinking for future, i.e. long running processes, responsive GUI, etc. (add to the benefit you suggest by framework 4.5 - which in my actual experience is hugely faster on IIS)