is the system using any type of Proxy !
Some tools of that type don’t fully support the https protocol. When visit an https site – does it appear in the Internet Zone or have ever added sites to the Trusted” zone ! Please write more about how the IE Zone security settings are configured.
Do one thing….
Possibly, IE attempts to check if revocation information exists for the server certificate, and since certificate info about it is not likely to be found on the server. Try unchecking the option Check for publishers certificate revocation and see if the performance returns back to normal.
One more suspect that, other browsers cached the image, which is why they are fast, and IE8 maybe reloading it each time. If possible, try to load on Firefox and check if it will happen again.
NOTES: The type of Internet connection u use is the most important factor in determining connection speed. The three most common ways to connect to the Internet are dial-up, DSL, and cable. While cable is usually the fastest.
Hope it may help u!