Benchmarks of Apple's new MacBook Pros find speeds 13%-53% faster
Speedmark 6.5 tests administered by Macworld found that the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.3GHz Core i5 dual-core processor earned a score of 140, versus its predecessor's score of 106. That means the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is 35 percent faster than the model released last April.
While the new system was faster at "just about everything," it did fall short in playing the game Call of Duty 4, averaging 26 frames per second versus 33 frames in last year's model. This is due to the use of Intel's integrated HD Graphics 3000 in the Sandy Bridge processor, while last year's model included a discrete Nvidia graphics card.
The 13-inch 2.7GHz Core i7 MacBook Pro was 13 percent faster than last year's offering with a score of 155. It sports a 2.7GHz Core i7 processor, but again relies on Intel's discrete graphics.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro with 2.0GHz quad-core Core i7 MacBook Pro came in 33 percent faster than last year's 15-inch model with a 2.4GHz Core i5 dual-core system. And the 15-inch 2.2GHz Core i7 quad-core came in 38 percent faster than last year's model.
The new 17-inch MacBook Pro has similar specifications to the high-end 15-inch model, and was 53 percent faster than last year's 17-inch model. Both the new 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros feature discrete Radeon HD 6750M graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory that makes them display 31 percent more frames per second in Call of Duty 4.
Macworld also had the new MacBook Pros square off against Apple's iMac all-in-one desktop line, and found that the 2.0GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro beat out the entry-level 3.06GHz dual core Core i3 iMac by one speedmark point. They also found the 15- and 17-inch 2.2GHz MacBook Pros to be about 7 percent faster than the high-end standard configuration iMac with a 2.7GHz quad-core Core i5 processor.
For more, see AppleInsider's coverage of Apple's new line of MacBook Pros:
70 Comments
Such a shame that Apple decided to hobble the 13" MacBook Pro with the pathetic intel integrated graphics chip.
They could easily have has the best line out ever of MacBooks, still at least the 15-17" MacBooks have everything a pro could desire.
I’m more interested in real world battery tests under various usage models. I would expect that idle that the new MBPs exceed the previous MBPs.
on my 2.2ghz MBP 15" I can play TF2, SC2, WoW, and LFD2 all at max settings flawlessly. I have yet to install Windows and try out Bad Company 2.
I am very pleased.
I really like the $1800 15 inch, it looks sweet. just wondering if anyone can give me some idea if its any good for windows gaming? not looking for a gaming laptop, I want a high end nice professional laptop that can boot windows and play games from time to time.
are teh macbook pros with discreet graphics OK for windows games? I am particularly interested in FPS games, and I know I will be playing much Duke Nukem Forever when it arrives this summer
Bought last years' model and I knew that this would eventually happen, but having to see the leap of technology that Apple makes after having recently dropped thousands of dollars in cash on the quickly depreciating laptop makes me want to kill myself.