Macbook Pro 2010 : Core i5 Review (Gaming...)

[tuxblondinet]

Review Macbook Pro (Intel Core i5 2,4Ghz)

Introduction

I bought my first Macbook Pro in July 2009, I needed a new laptop for my work in university, with a professionnal look and with good finitions. The well known heat issue on my last Macbook Pro 2,8 Ghz disappointed me ! I sell it quickly to get few months later an Alienware M11x. Too little laptop and too slow processor I wanted to change it again. It was on the 26 april 2010 and the new Macbook pro came out, I choose the following configuration:

# 2.4GHz Intel Core i5
# 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
# 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
# SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
# Nvidia Geforce GT 330M 256 Mo GDDR3
# Clavier rétro-éclairé (Français) & Guide de l'utilisateur

For a total of 1799 euros. (Belgium)

A Closer Look

I think video talks more than words so enjoy this little video with poor quality taken from my next gen ipod nano(5th) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s4XgNBN2Gk

-2 USB (2.0)
-Ethernet (10/100/1000)
-Firmwire 800
-Lecteur carte SD
-Input microphone
-output audio

Few pictures taken after the unboxing :









Mac OS X

The most beautiful thing about Mac OS X is the capicity of customising, here is my setup :



You can see all my desktop here : http://tuxchemistry.deviantart.com/


Performance

Here is the main point ! I created a 80 Go partition to install bootcamp and windows 7 64 bits. My Nvidia drivers are the 197.16 one.

A first run in 3D Mark 2006(@1280x800) without any overclocks(stock score) :



Nothing special a pretty mid range score. I decided to overclock a bit the GPU with these settings :

Core : 700
Shaders : 1560
Memory : 1000

The score goes from mid range score to pretty high range score :



Awesome 9000 points on a non gaming machine ! To confirm this result I decided to run few games.

Resident Evil 5 - All on High(Except Shadows) @ 1280x720



Street Fighter 4 - All on High with anisotropy 16x @ 1280x720




Devil May Cry 4 - All on High @ 1280x720




The Last Remnant @ 1280x720




Borderlands - All on High(Except Dynamic Shadows) @ 1280x720


I played the first scene until the meeting with Dr Zed. Recorded FPS with FRAPS.

Frames: 7032 - Time: 128227ms - Avg: 54.840 - Min: 41 - Max: 63





Mass Effect 2 - All on High(Except Dynamics Shadow)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FrKRtjEQAI

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl




Conclusion

Well a really good gaming, working, ... laptop. Apple produces a very good laptop with very good capacity in term of gaming.

+
- Battery (5h30 DVD)
- Performance
- Workmanship
- Silent
- Temperature
- ...


-

-Price !!!!



Thank you for reading

 

[Laughingman13]

The thing about gaming on macbook pro is that it tends to overheat really really fast.

In short, gaming on any laptop is bad because of how close the hardware are together. If they overheat they are more prone to damage than Desktop computers.

 

[DesmoPilot]

Curious as to why you chose to bench at 1280x720 instead of the native res?

 

[tuxblondinet]

I am not a hardcore gamer 1280x720 is for me the better ratio between performance and visual quality.

 

[DesmoPilot]

Lol, native res is hardly the requirement of a "hardcore gamer".

 

[Laughingman13]

sorry for the offtopicness

but basically you just close the lid on your MBP to put it to sleep right?

 

[tuxblondinet]

Quick answer Yes

 

[Rithem]

Wow. Your GPU must be ridiculous or something. I got a 6200 on 3DMark06 on an i7 with a 512MB 330M.

 

[fr4c]

Wow. Your GPU must be ridiculous or something. I got a 6200 on 3DMark06 on an i7 with a 512MB 330M.

He oc'ed the GPU.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

Wow. Your GPU must be ridiculous or something. I got a 6200 on 3DMark06 on an i7 with a 512MB 330M.

Did you run the same resolution as the OP? With stock settings/configuration he got 6700 at 1280x720. If you didn't run at that resolution, try redoing the test at that and post the results. I'm buying an i7 15" either tomorrow or Thursday and this kind of interests me, although I'm not going to be using Windows too much, if at all.

 

[Rithem]

He oc'ed the GPU.

Read and look at the pictures before you correct me. 6700 stock. 8900 OC'd.

Did you run the same resolution as the OP? With stock settings/configuration he got 6700 at 1280x720. If you didn't run at that resolution, try redoing the test at that and post the results. I'm buying an i7 15" either tomorrow or Thursday and this kind of interests me, although I'm not going to be using Windows too much, if at all.

I just used the 3DMark06 demo which runs at 1280x720. So I have no idea how he got a 6700 on stock settings. I got a 62/300 on stock and 7300 OC'd.

 

[deus ex machina]

The thing about gaming on macbook pro is that it tends to overheat really really fast.

In short, gaming on any laptop is bad because of how close the hardware are together. If they overheat they are more prone to damage than Desktop computers.

They do get hot, however it is within the limits of the circuitry. Also consider the number of software packages, like video conversion, that fully engage the GPU for extended periods, not terribly unlike 3d games.

Yes, it is better to game on a desktop, but some fun can be had on a macbook.

 

[fr4c]

Read and look at the pictures before you correct me. 6700 stock. 8900 OC'd.

Was I correcting you? I wasn't aware I was doing that. Here is what you said:

"Wow. Your GPU must be ridiculous or something. I got a 6200 on 3DMark06 on an i7 with a 512MB 330M."

I simply answered your question, based on your statement, on why he got a higher 3DMark score than you did. You did not state whether or not if you were comparing stock vs. OC'ed scores, resolution, etc. I assumed you were comparing your stock scores with his OC'ed scores.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

I just used the 3DMark06 demo which runs at 1280x720. So I have no idea how he got a 6700 on stock settings. I got a 62/300 on stock and 7300 OC'd.

Oh hmm...Did you over clock it to the same settings as the OP did? I would assume so. I'm wondering how he got 6700 on 256MB then since you're getting 6200 on 512MB.

EDIT: I was just reading his testing setup, and it seems he used Windows 7 64-bit, and the latest nVidia drivers, just making sure, did you match those settings? Or is there anything different?

Anybody have an explanation by chance?

 

[Rithem]

Was I correcting you? I wasn't aware I was doing that. Here is what you said:

"Wow. Your GPU must be ridiculous or something. I got a 6200 on 3DMark06 on an i7 with a 512MB 330M."

I simply answered your question, based on your statement, on why he got a higher 3DMark score than you did. You did not state whether or not if you were comparing stock vs. OC'ed scores, resolution, etc. I assumed you were comparing your stock scores with his OC'ed scores.

I didn't ask a question. I just stated my amazement at his scores since his scores are so much higher than mine with half the VRAM. By stating my 6200 vs. his 6700 I thought it was assumed that we were talking my stock settings against his stock settings, which you can just tell by looking at the pictures and how he stated he got almost 9000, not 6700, on OC'ed settings.

Oh hmm...Did you over clock it to the same settings as the OP did? I would assume so. I'm wondering how he got 6700 on 256MB then since you're getting 6200 on 512MB.

EDIT: I was just reading his testing setup, and it seems he used Windows 7 64-bit, and the latest nVidia drivers, just making sure, did you match those settings? Or is there anything different?

Anybody have an explanation by chance?

I'm using Windows 7 64-bit with updated Nvidia drivers, 197.40 I believe? I honestly have no idea how there is such a big discrepancy between his i5/330m 256VRAM scores and my i7/330M 512VRAM scores.

 

[wake6830]

Wow. Your GPU must be ridiculous or something. I got a 6200 on 3DMark06 on an i7 with a 512MB 330M.

He OC'd his GPU and benched at 1280 instead of 1440.

In any case, to the OP: nice write up. I just bought a new MBP yesterday after having my 2008 MBP since release. I was undecided about whether or not to spend the extra money for the i7 and the 512mb vram but I am glad I did not. I went with the 2.5ghz i5.

So far I have only tested Bad Company 2, but it runs fine without overclocking at medium settings at 1440 x 900 after some tweaking of the game's "settings" file (namely, forcing DirectX9). I'm not expecting high-end graphics so I don't mind playing with some of the textures and stuff turned down.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

I'm using Windows 7 64-bit with updated Nvidia drivers, 197.40 I believe? I honestly have no idea how there is such a big discrepancy between his i5/330m 256VRAM scores and my i7/330M 512VRAM scores.

Hmm that's weird. I'll try running the test when I get my i7 in the next day or two. Hopefully we can find a definitive answer for this lol.

 

[Rithem]

He OC'd his GPU and benched at 1280 instead of 1440.

I know. That's the default setting for 3DMark. That's the same one I used. I have the high res so its 1680x1024 but it doesn't matter.

Hmm that's weird. I'll try running the test when I get my i7 in the next day or two. Hopefully we can find a definitive answer for this lol.

Good idea. I've been getting about the same scores as other 512VRAM 330M users but this is just really weird. Score difference shouldn't be that big.

 

[fr4c]

I didn't ask a question. I just stated my amazement at his scores since his scores are so much higher than mine with half the VRAM. By stating my 6200 vs. his 6700 I thought it was assumed that we were talking my stock settings against his stock settings, which you can just tell by looking at the pictures and how he stated he got almost 9000, not 6700, on OC'ed settings.

Don't assume people know what you are talking about or comparing to, because what is obvious to one person might not be the same for another. If you had posted what you wrote above instead, perhaps your initial statement would have been understood better, especially by me.

The point of this forum is to share knowledge with one another, and I thought perhaps you could have missed out the part where he said he OC'ed the GPU. Who knew a simple response could have resulted with snarky comments.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

Good idea. I've been getting about the same scores as other 512VRAM 330M users but this is just really weird. Score difference shouldn't be that big.

Yeah I was reading the other thread about the benchmarks and those tests seemed to be around what you got. So I'm not sure how the OP got those scores.

OP, if you could, try running the tests again and post those results, I'm not saying I don't believe you, it's just it's kind of weird to see such high scores when the i7 should be higher...idk.

 

[wake6830]

I know. That's the default setting for 3DMark. That's the same one I used. I have the high res so its 1680x1024 but it doesn't matter.

Hmm... interesting. I will try to run the same tests in bootcamp over the next few days with my i5 2.5/256.

 

[Rithem]

Don't assume people know what you are talking about or comparing to, because what is obvious to one person might not be the same for another. If you had posted what you wrote above instead, perhaps your initial statement would have been understood better, especially by me.

The point of this forum is to share knowledge with one another, and I thought perhaps you could have missed out the part where he said he OC'ed the GPU. Who knew a simple response could have resulted with snarky comments.

Me = super stressed because I have 2 finals Thursday and Friday.

Yeah I was reading the other thread about the benchmarks and those tests seemed to be around what you got. So I'm not sure how the OP got those scores.

OP, if you could, try running the tests again and post those results, I'm not saying I don't believe you, it's just it's kind of weird to see such high scores when the i7 should be higher...idk.

I'll try and do it before I head to sleep. I need a study break anyways. I'll post them up. Anyone know how to screenshot on windows doing bootcamp? There's no print screen button :/

 

[grahamnp]

...and you had HWMonitor running in the background while you were benchmarking? 72 C for an overclocked GPU is very impressive!

 

[exe163]

I'll try and do it before I head to sleep. I need a study break anyways. I'll post them up. Anyone know how to screenshot on windows doing bootcamp? There's no print screen button :/

Can you run the game test at your native res? I think it reflects the result better in real world performance since 1 to 1 pixel matching is crucial for great gaming experience. Also it shows the limitation of 256mb vram.

3dmark on the other hand, I always run at default.

 

[tuxblondinet]

I always get HWmonitor running in the background even if i'm playing to check temperature. For the stock score, I don't know a second run on a clean install gives me 6700 score (@1280x800 default).