A 17 - column inch MacBook Pro powered by a next - contemporaries Core 2 Duo cow chip performs as you might expect , generally matching the carrying into action of a 15 - inch MacBook Pro equipped with the same 2.33GHz central processing unit — with one renowned exception .
Apple announced a 17 - inch 2.33GHz MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo along with the rest of the upgraded MacBook Pro line in October , though the 17 - inch model did n’t ship until November . We finally catch our hands on one just before Thanksgiving and began running our common assault and battery of tests . For the most part , we liked what we saw . Results from tests using applications such as Photoshop , Cinema 4D , Compressor , iMovie , iTunes , Unreal Tournament were all nearly monovular on both the 15 - in and 17 - inch 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros . Other trial , like zipping and unzip one Gigabyte archive files were not as close , but did n’t produce bit that we conceive eyebrow - raising .
Ah , but our iPhoto test effect — those had us inscribe our corporate heads .
For some grounds , the 17 - column inch model we bought from the San Francisco Apple Store was taking two - and - a - one-half times longer than the 15 - inch MacBook Pro Core 2 twosome to spell 100 picture from the tough drive into the iPhoto Library . ( The 17 - inch MacBook Pro uses a 160 GB movement from Hitachi ; the 15 - inch role model ’s 120 GB parkway comes from Fujitsu . ) The 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo - powered machine was even taking longer than a 1.67GHz PowerBook G4 .
17-inch MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo Benchmarks
Best results inbold . extension system initalics . Asterisk ( * ) denotes model with build - to - order 7,200 - rev hard driving force
Speedmark 4.5 score are relative to those of a 1.25GHz Mac miniskirt , which is designate a score of 100 . Adobe Photoshop , Cinema 4D XL , iMovie , iTunes , and Zip Archive scores are in arcminute : seconds . All systems were take to the woods Mac OS X 10.4.8 with 2 GB of RAM ( except where indicated ) , with processor execution set to Highest in the Energy Saver predilection pane when applicable . The Photoshop Suite psychometric test is a set of 14 scripted task using a 50 MB file . Photoshop ’s computer storage was set to 70 percent and account was set to Minimum . We read how long it take to render a scene in Cinema4D. We used Compressor to encode a 6minute:26second DV single file using the DVD : Fastest Encode 120 minutes – 4:3 setting . In iMovie , we apply the older video result to a 1 - instant movie . We imported 100 jpeg range from the voiceless drive into iPhoto ’s library . We converted 45 minutes of AAC audio file to MP3 using iTunes ’ High Quality mise en scene . We used Unreal Tournament 2004 ’ Antalus Botmatch ordinary - frame - per - second grievance ; we tested at a firmness of 1,024 by 768 pel at the Maximum scope with both audio recording and art enabled . We produce a Zip archive in the Finder from a 1 GB folder and then Unzipped the same file . To liken Speedmark 4.5 scores for various Mac systems , visit our Apple Hardware Guide .—MACWORLD LAB TESTING BY JAMES GALBRAITH , JERRY JUNG AND BRIAN CHEN
We tried another batch of stock photo from a different source and found the same turgid performance gap . ( We chose descent photos for the comfort of our testers — who wants to watch my living pass before their eyes twenty-four hours after solar day during testing ? ) Unable to fix the result , we alerted Apple , which loaned us another 17 - inch MacBook Pro for testing — but the same trouble popped up with that system .
I decide to try trade the hard cause from the 15 - inch manakin for the 17 - inch ’s driving . Though the process is comparatively simple , it ask dispatch , keeping track of , and replacing approximately 24 jailor per system . After the switching , I discover that the 17 - column inch model gained considerable terra firma , posting a time just 11 second base shy of its 15 - inch 2.33GHz sibling . After going back to Apple representatives with our final result , we adjudicate to trade test photograph . When I tried the tests using Apple ’s picture , the problem disappeared . When the common people at Apple tried ours , they removed the ColorSync profile from the image before running the test using the “ Remove profile from image ” playscript ground in / Library / Scripts / ColorSync . We ran the script and then ran the tests again .
What a difference a profile makes ! The stock 17 - column inch 2.33GHz MacBook Pro went from study nearly 3 minutes to make out the run to just one mo , as you’re able to see in the chart below . Removing the profiles sped up the other systems as well , so using these new single file in this version of Speedmark just is n’t potential . Apple is n’t trusted why those profiles are reach such a difference , but the company secure us that it ’s go to get to the bottom of this and will keep us informed of any progress .
17-inch MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo And iPhoto
All systems were flow Mac OS X 10.4.8 with 2 GB of RAM ( except where designate ) , with central processing unit performance go down to Highest in the Energy Saver druthers pane when applicable . We imported 100 jpeg images from the hard drive into iPhoto ’s depository library . In the 2nd column , we removed ColorSync profile from the picture before feed the test.—MACWORLD LAB TESTING BY JAMES GALBRAITH , JERRY JUNG AND BRIAN CHEN
In the meantime , keep in mind that the stock 17 - inch MacBook Pro ’s Speedmark score is severely affected by this crotchet we witness in iPhoto . In fact , if we were to draw out the iPhoto test out of the Speedmark figuring , the 15 - inch 2.33 MacBook Pro would have scored just one point higher than the 17 - inch modeling , compared to the current 15 point performance gap .
Though we support by our results , we will likely change the test to use typical digital camera file in the next version of Speedmark , which we expect to debut early in 2007 . We will also continue to come after up with Apple for an explanation of this quirky solution .
Stay tuned forMacworld ’s full review of the 17 - inch MacBook Pro , coming presently .
[ James Galbraith is Macworld research laboratory managing director . ]
