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Benchmarks for New 13-Inch MacBook Pro Beat MacBook Air, Previous MacBook Pro by 10-15%

ppdix said:
hmmmmm... My Mac Pro does 21000 on GeekBench 2...
Apple doesn't realize a laptop will NEVER be able to keep up with a real Pro machine... This makes me even more disappointed that they don't seem to care about their fastest Mac...:mad:
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50 lb server grade professional workstation is faster than a 2 lb ultrabook. Who would have guessed? :rolleyes:
 
Dan-- said:
Does anyone know why the Pro doesn't geekbench much faster than the Air based on clock speed alone?
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ToomeyND said:
Post number 59 answered this excellently.
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the MBA has "2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz". The fastest MBP is "2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz". So when there is little heat, it is [only] 12.5% faster (3.2 -> 3.6 = 12.5%), but when both get hot and have to reduce the processor speed, it will be 45% faster (2.0 -> 2.9 = 45%).
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Got it, thanks.
 
ppdix said:
hmmmmm... My Mac Pro does 21000 on GeekBench 2...
Apple doesn't realize a laptop will NEVER be able to keep up with a real Pro machine... This makes me even more disappointed that they don't seem to care about their fastest Mac...:mad:
Click to expand...

A macbook pro could also be a "real Pro machine", i've sold my 2010 15" macbook pro 2.4 core i5, not because it's too slow but mainly because it's too bulky.
The 2012 macbook air is even faster, nice to carry, i get 8gb of ram and all ssd (with a 512gb option), the battery is the same as the new macbook pro's (7 hours).
I do music production, recordings... TB is taking over firewire and high end TB audio interfaces are showing up.
USB3 is a bonus.
Of course the Air isn't a macpro, thing you can't put in your back pack but it's becoming serious...
 
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faroZ06 said:
Yep, only 1 article in the past few days before this. I think the next article is going to be: "Apple begins seeding 10.7.x to developers" then "Apple begins seeding 10.7.x golden master to developers".
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MacRumors does not post on the weekend. I wish they did but they don't.
 
Daws001 said:
Oh, is the screen worse on the Pro?
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The MBP display is better than the MBA regarding color accuracy, gamut, etc.

Also: I developed severe eyestrain when using the 11" MBA; the 13" MBP doesn't have the same effect. Some people are adversely affected by the LED backlighting used in current portable Macs. There is a long Apple forum thread going back to August 2008 on the subject.
 
riveting said:
I still can't understand why Apple didn't increase the resolution of 13 MBP to match MBA, there is really nothing "Pro" about the 13 MBP. Even the performance difference (CPU only, not to mention slower disk) over the MBA is minimal.
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Because they want to keep the same 'nominal' resolution when they pixel-double it. And given the resolution of the 15" MBP retina, the most likely resolution for a 13" retina display is 2560 x 1600.
 
junkster said:
Here's the thing: performance benchmarks for laptops no longer matter.

Whenever benchmarks like these get posted, there should be a decibel level, ambient temperature, and battery life estimate that goes alongside them.
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These "testers" are always very narrow minded. Only one thing has meaning in their life, as if everyone is running their computers at full speed 100% of the time and are in dire need 4% more speed. If you monitor your processor, you'll see that it very seldom runs at max.

They're obviously deaf and have no feeling since the fan and heat aren't noticed. These testers must have come from Consumer Reports where they choose only one or two things upon which they rate products, and never rate on noise (e.g., shop vacs, lawn mowers, chain saws, etc.).
 
Digital Skunk said:
Glad to see that new technology is faster by the exact margin everyone predicted it would be long before Ivy Bridge Macbook Pros were released.

Can't wait to see the benchmarks for the "NEW" MacPro.
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The benchmarks for the new Macbook Pro were posted a few days ago on this forum...
 
Daws001 said:
Really hard to decide between the top model 13" Air and Pro. And with a student discount, the Pro is actually $50 cheaper than the Air. Performance over portability I guess.



Oh, is the screen worse on the Pro? I'm definitely going to have to go to a store and see the two first hand to decide. I wonder if Airs are less prone to malfunctions since they don't have all those moving drives that the Pro has. Wouldn't get as hot too I'd imagine.
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I was just at the store checking them out. Really, Apple only sells two laptops that make sense now: the 13-inch Air and the 15-inch Retina Pro. I suspect those two will make up more than 70% of their laptop sales going forward. The 11-inch air is too small. Giving up too much screen size just to save another half pound. The old Pros are too heavy and the processing power is useless for most users and certainly dwarfed in importance compared to the value of the SSD in the 13-inch air. Sure you can put an SSD in your pro, but once you drop that cash, you only have to spend a bit more and you've got the basic Retina Pro. But you are missing the light form factor of the Air or the Retina Pro.
 
Daws001 said:
Really hard to decide between the top model 13" Air and Pro. And with a student discount, the Pro is actually $50 cheaper than the Air. Performance over portability I guess.



Oh, is the screen worse on the Pro? I'm definitely going to have to go to a store and see the two first hand to decide. I wonder if Airs are less prone to malfunctions since they don't have all those moving drives that the Pro has. Wouldn't get as hot too I'd imagine.
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I have read that the mbp screen, while less in resolution is actually of higher caliber

I opted for the base 13in mbp. Saving 300 over the i7 for probably no real perceived performance increase was my reasoing
 
Just ran Geekbench on my new 13" MBP 2.9GHz in 64-bit mode, it came back with a score of 8617. That's almost 800 above the data presented. Tasting a grain of salt there...
 
GodWhomIsMike said:
50 lb server grade professional workstation is faster than a 2 lb ultrabook. Who would have guessed? :rolleyes:
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I think those of you ridiculing the guy who made the comment regarding his Mac Pro blowing away ANY lap top by a factor of 3 miss the point.

The point is if you read the forums on the disappointment in the latest Mac Pro 'upgrade' you will find a lot of people saying there is no need for the Mac Pro that a lap top can do it all. That there is no reason for a workstation grade mac.

We beg to differ.
 
TallManNY said:
I usually wish they would throw in a few other platforms when they publish this stuff. Like throw an iMac in there or a Mac Pro. I know I can figure that out, but it would be easier if the graphics showed a platform you might actually be using while considering an upgrade to a 2012 laptop.

They should also throw some older and popular models on the comparison. Seriously, I don't know anyone who upgrades their laptop every year or every two years. So except for some very hardcore folks, who owns a 2011 laptop and is considering buying a 2012? I'm considering replacing my 2007 macbook this year. But since it still runs Lion like a champ I certainly don't need to.
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A thousand times agreed.
 
My Geekbench score for my Late 2011 MBP is higher than they give here by a few hundred, comes in at 7245 in 32 bit mode.

I'm gonna sell this and get a 2012 Air though with the 256SSD. Time to lose the bulk and gain the extra GPU bump. Dropping processor grunt but at turbo boost they aren't all that different anyway!

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Ptdr said:
A macbook pro could also be a "real Pro machine", i've sold my 2010 15" macbook pro 2.4 core i5, not because it's too slow but mainly because it's too bulky.
The 2012 macbook air is even faster, nice to carry, i get 8gb of ram and all ssd (with a 512gb option), the battery is the same as the new macbook pro's (7 hours).
I do music production, recordings... TB is taking over firewire and high end TB audio interfaces are showing up.
USB3 is a bonus.
Of course the Air isn't a macpro, thing you can't put in your back pack but it's becoming serious...
Click to expand...

:snap: What music do you produce?:D
 
TallManNY said:
I usually wish they would throw in a few other platforms when they publish this stuff. Like throw an iMac in there or a Mac Pro. I know I can figure that out, but it would be easier if the graphics showed a platform you might actually be using while considering an upgrade to a 2012 laptop.

They should also throw some older and popular models on the comparison. Seriously, I don't know anyone who upgrades their laptop every year or every two years. So except for some very hardcore folks, who owns a 2011 laptop and is considering buying a 2012? I'm considering replacing my 2007 macbook this year. But since it still runs Lion like a champ I certainly don't need to.
Click to expand...
What web browser do you use? Chrome destroys my processor and lap.
 
I just picked up a late 2011 mbp 13" from best buy for $999, coming from a 2004, yes, 2004! HP laptop (2ghz amd turion x2, 4gb ram and a 80gb hdd) the 2011 mbp is an epic jump up for me. Considered the i7 version or the 2012 base model but given my needs the base late 2011 is awesome. Sure wasnt worth another 200 for the 2012.

Retina mbp looked amazing in store but it's just too expensive for me right now.
 
Eidorian said:
What web browser do you use? Chrome destroys my processor and lap.
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Safari and Chrome. Frankly, GF has taken over use of the laptop for the most part. But I hear no complaints. And when I'm called over to view the latest YouTube cat video, it seems to be working fine. And I believe she regulars runs with 8 to 10 tabs open at once, so I think she is pushing the browsers hard.

I did upgrade the ram at some point. I can't remember to what. I'm guessing 4GB maxes out the hardware and that is probably what is in it.

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Bauer24 said:
A thousand times agreed.
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Yeah. If I own a 2011 laptop, then there is probably one thing I'm pretty sure about in life . . . I'm not ever buying a 2012 laptop.

They should pick at leat one laptop from every year going back four or five years and show comparisons against that. It would just be interesting from a technological growth perspective as well even if you aren't in arent in the market for a new computer.
 
TallManNY said:
Safari and Chrome. Frankly, GF has taken over use of the laptop for the most part. But I hear no complaints. And when I'm called over to view the latest YouTube cat video, it seems to be working fine. And I believe she regulars runs with 8 to 10 tabs open at once, so I think she is pushing the browsers hard.

I did upgrade the ram at some point. I can't remember to what. I'm guessing 4GB maxes out the hardware and that is probably what is in it.
Click to expand...
I wonder what I am doing wrong. Safari is more manageable but now Click2Flash is choking the browser. It might involve something with Flash and the QTKit. When I open a lot of tabs in Chrome, it is a direct trip to 6200 RPM and a burnt lap. I know it is summer when I am just shy of a first degree burn from my laptop!

Which shows another lapse in judgement...
 
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