[Eug]

2.33GHz iMac Core 2 Duo comes out ahead

You would expect an iMac powered by the fastest Core 2 Duo chip available to outperform iMacs with lesser clock speeds. And that was certainly the case when we ran our benchmark testing on Apple’s build-to-order iMac Core 2 Duo with a 2.33GHz processor—it easily beat its fellow Core 2 Duo models as well as an older Intel-based iMac running on a 2GHz Core Duo chip.

But what you might not expect is for that high-end consumer machine to beat out a professional tower powered by two dual-core chips in Macworld Lab tests. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what happened—the 2.33GHz iMac Core 2 Duo edged past the 2GHz Mac Pro.

[mduell]

Oh gee, a system with a better video card gets higher framerates! Shock and amazement!

The two CPU bound tests that the iMac "wins" are so close they're probably within the error of the test.

[::maroma::]

Wow, that's surprising! I'm glad to see that though, as I'll be getting one of these soon. Hopefully sooner, rather than later since I'll want as much bragging time as possible until the upgraded towers come out.

[::maroma::]

Originally Posted by mduell

Oh gee, a system with a better video card gets higher framerates! Shock and amazement!

The two CPU bound tests that the iMac "wins" are so close they're probably within the error of the test.

Agreed, but I think the numbers are better than people like me would expect them to be. I think a lot of people have the impression that an iMac would never touch the towers in terms of speed. At least people like me, a less techno-savvy type person.

[Eug Wanker]

Yeah, the test results are kinda expected for the most part. However, I for one expected the quad to beat the iMac in iMovie and iTunes, and I was quite wrong. I'm also a little surprised that the quad didn't do better in Compressor. That's one of the few pro apps tested, and it only did a little bit better than the iMac.

I'm not surprised at the Photoshop bench though.

OTOH, how much of a disadvantage is there with the increased latency of FB-DIMM memory?



P.S. You know it's funny... 1.5 years ago when I bought my G5 iMac, I told myself I wouldn't upgrade my iMac until it:

1) Had a 23" inch monitor
2) Had a decent GPU with 256 MB RAM
3) Had two fast cores so it would be more than twice as fast as my G5 iMac

I was expecting to wait 3 years. I'm glad I was wrong.

[Eug Wanker]

CINEBENCH 9.5
************************************************** **

Tester : Eug

Processor : iMac Core 2 Duo
MHz : 2333
Number of CPUs : 2
Operating System : Mac OS X 10.4.7

Graphics Card : 7600 GT
Resolution : <fill this out>
Color Depth : <fill this out>

************************************************** **

Rendering (Single CPU): 385 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU): 727 CB-CPU

Multiprocessor Speedup: 1.89

Shading (CINEMA 4D) : 470 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Software Lighting) : 1866 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Hardware Lighting) : 4399 CB-GFX

OpenGL Speedup: 9.35

************************************************** **

[Eug Wanker]

Using Handbrake, I encoded a 149 second chapter from a DVD that had already been ripped to the hard drive.
I used the Handbrake default settings (which are the ones when it starts up) - ffmpeg, MPEG4, 1000 Kbps, AAC 128, 624x480.

20" iMac G5 970FX 2.0 GHz = 13.6 fps, 266.4 sec
24" iMac Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz = 70.4 fps, 52.2 sec




Also:

CINEBENCH 9.5
************************************************** **

Tester : Eug

Processor : iBook G4
MHz : 1.07 GHz
Number of CPUs : 1
Operating System : Mac OS X 10.4.6

Graphics Card : Radeon 9200
Resolution : 1024x768
Color Depth : Millions

************************************************** **

Rendering (Single CPU): 109 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU): --- CB-CPU


Shading (CINEMA 4D) : 117 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Software Lighting) : 352 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Hardware Lighting) : 457 CB-GFX

OpenGL Speedup: 3.91

************************************************** **


CINEBENCH 9.5
************************************************** **

Tester : Eug

Processor : Intel Core Duo
MHz : 2.0 GHz
Number of CPUs : 2
Operating System : Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6

Graphics Card : Intel GMA 950
Resolution : 1280x800
Color Depth : Millions

************************************************** **

Rendering (Single CPU): 307 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU): 578 CB-CPU

Multiprocessor Speedup: 1.88

Shading (CINEMA 4D) : 347 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Software Lighting) : 1187 CB-GFX
Shading (OpenGL Hardware Lighting) : 1088 CB-GFX

OpenGL Speedup: 3.42

************************************************** **