You're better off using table-layout: fixed
Auto is the default value and with large tables can cause a bit of client side lag as the browser iterates through it to check all the sizes fit.
Fixed is far better and renders quicker to the page. The structure of the table is dependent on the tables overall width and the width of each of the columns.
Here it is applied to the original example: JSFIDDLE, You'll note that the remaining columns are crushed and overlapping their content. We can fix that with some more CSS (all I've had to do is add a class to the first TR):
table {
width: 100%;
table-layout: fixed;
}
.header-row > td {
width: 100px;
}
td.rhead {
width: 300px
}
Seen in action here: JSFIDDLE