The 3GHz MacPro
Related: data integrity, diglloydTools, IntegrityChecker, Mac Pro, memory
The testing website barefeats.com kindly ran a hash benchmark for me (see below), the same algorithm used in IntegrityChecker. The results (which I consider quite indicative of the “true” performance of the machine for tasks involving lots of CPU and memory) show about a 44% advantage of the MacPro 3.0GHz quad-core vs the PowerMac G5 Quad. See also diglloyd PowerMac G5 Quad and MacBook Pro Experience Report.
| Power Mac G5 Quad | MacPro 3GHz |
llcG5:~ lloyd$ /ic test-speed IntegrityChecker(tm) Version 1.0.2 (c)2003-2006 diglloyd, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Test size = 32MB Testing... Chunk Size K MB/sec 1 97.9 2 101.6 4 103.5 8 104.6 16 105.1 32 105.3 64 105.4 128 105.5 256 105.4 Best chunk size: 256K This computer has 4 processing units. Testing using 4 threads simultaneously... thread 0: 103.9...105.3 thread 1: 102.3...105.2 thread 2: 101.1...105.3 thread 3: 101.4...105.6 Aggregate rate: 421MB/sec |
llcG5:~ lloyd$ /ic test-speed IntegrityChecker(tm) Version 1.0.2 (c)2003-2006 diglloyd, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Test size = 32MB Testing... Chunk Size K MB/sec 1 142.3 2 148.0 4 151.2 8 152.8 16 153.7 32 154.0 64 154.6 128 154.8 256 154.8 Best chunk size: 256K This computer has 4 processing units. Testing using 4 threads simultaneously... thread 0: 153.6...154.1 thread 1: 153.6...154.2 thread 2: 153.5...154.1 thread 3: 153.7...154.2 Aggregate rate: 617MB/sec |
These results indicate that for tasks that are CPU and memory intensive, the MacPro 3GHz has a 46% performance (throughput) advantage over the 2.5GHz PowerMac G5 Quad.
Scaling the 3GHz down to 2.5GHz would yield roughly 514 MB/sec, or 22% performance gain at the same clock speed as the PowerMac G5 Quad. But high-end users will opt for the 3GHz (or faster future models), so the 46% number is of more relevance.
The cost of MacPro memory is still a major burden in owning a MacPro, at least if you need 4GB or more. My advice remains unchanged—wait for 3-6 months for the price of memory to come down, the CPU speed to go up, and any “version 1.0” bugs in the MacPro to be worked out.
