Which computer is faster? By how much?

[McGilli]

Hi there.

I currently have a 2009 MacBook Pro which has this processor :

2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo


I just ordered a 2011 Mac Mini with this processor:


2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5


Is my older MBP faster - even though it's 3 years old?

 

[basesloaded190]

Hi there.

I currently have a 2009 MacBook Pro which has this processor :

2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo


I just ordered a 2011 Mac Mini with this processor:


2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5


Is my older MBP faster - even though it's 3 years old?

No. More GHz does not equal faster processor.

 

[The-Pro]

No it is not faster. In the i5 chips there are two technologies which significantly increase performance.
One it called Turbo boost which increases the clock speed (GHz) of certain cores when other cores aren't being used. I think it can clock up to 3.2 GHz in your i5.
Then there is hyper threading which allows two tasks to be processed by a single core. So whilst the i5 is a dual core processor it is recognized as a quad core.

The 2.5 i5 Mini is about 40-50% faster than your MBP in most CPU related tasks. Also you have a AMD HD 6630M Graphics card which is faster then the 9600M GT in your MBP. So the mini is quicker in the area aswell.

 

[Poki]

Even in raw processing power (for example transcoding a video) the Mini is about 50% faster. The real world advantage in all-day situations should be even greater. So good decision to buy a Mini.

Oh, and if you don't feel the benefits - the hard drive in the Mini isn't faster, so that slows it down in many cases.

 

[McGilli]

Thanks everyone. All the information was exactly what I was looking for.

(and I was wondering why my new MBA from a few months ago was showing as 4 cpu's when it is a dual core.)

Now I know, thanks!

 

[NewbieCanada]

Oh, and if you don't feel the benefits - the hard drive in the Mini isn't faster, so that slows it down in many cases.

It is if you get the SSD. 😀

 

[McGilli]

It is if you get the SSD. 😀

I'm a touch worried about the Mini I got for just this reason.

When I got my 2009 MBA it had SSD.

When I got my 2009 MBP I installed two SSD's on day one.

I have a 2011 MBA with SSD.


This mini will be my first HDD based computer in three years...

I hope I'm not too spoiled by using SSD for so long now....

 

[Poki]

I can guarantee you that you won't be happy with it's speed if you're used to use SSDs. But it also isn't too expensive to install a ultra fast SATA-III SSD, so just do it. 😉

 

[Puevlo]

Hi there.

I currently have a 2009 MacBook Pro which has this processor :

2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo


I just ordered a 2011 Mac Mini with this processor:


2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5


Is my older MBP faster - even though it's 3 years old?

No. Although the Intel Core 2 Duo has more GHz the electrons in the i5 move a lot faster and thus can do more calculations with less Hertz.

 

[Bear]

No. Although the Intel Core 2 Duo has more GHz the electrons in the i5 move a lot faster and thus can do more calculations with less Hertz.

This is a most unusual theory and not quite correct.

To put it in simple terms, the electrons have shorter paths to travel in the i5. And so it can do more in the same amount of time as the older processors.

And yes, I know this is very much an over simplification.