2018 MacBook Pro 15 inch versus
other Macs running Geekbench
July 19th, 2018, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
July 20th, added 2.6GHz i7 6-Core and noted core frequency
How does the 2018 MacBook Pro 15 inch compare to other Macs? Will the 6-core CPU give it enough punch to compete? And what about the GPU?
GEEKBENCH Multi-Core CPU Overall Score
We've compiled a graph showing the various Macs running the Multi-Core Geekbench CPU test. (Each score is the highest reported on the Geekbench Browser.) The overall score combines 25 tests including Integer, Floating Point, and Memory. The higher the score, the faster the Mac. The three sample 2018 MacBook Pros are highlighted in RED.
GRAPH LEGEND
2017 iMac Pro 8-core = 3.2GHz 8-core Xeon, 32G RAM, Pro Vega 64 GPU
2018 MacBook Pro i9 6-core = 2.9GHz 6-Core i9, 32G RAM, Pro 560X GPU
2010 Mac Pro Xeon 12-core = 3.33GHz 12-core Xeon, 96G RAM, Vega Frontier GPU
2013 Mac Pro Xeon 8-core = 3.0GHz 8-core Xeon, 64G RAM, FirePro D700 GPUs
2018 MacBook Pro i7 6-core = 2.6GHz 6-core i7, 16G RAM, Pro 560X GPU
2013 Mac Pro Xeon 6-core = 3.5GHz 6-core Xeon, 32G RAM, FirePro D500 GPUs
2010 Mac Pro Xeon 6-core = 3.33GHz 6-core Xeon, 48G RAM, Radeon HD 7950 GPU
2017 iMac i7 4-core = 4.2GHz 4-core i7, 64G RAM, 64G RAM, Pro 580 GPU
2018 MacBook Pro i7 4-core = 2.7GHz 4-core i7, 16G RAM, Iris Plus 655 GPU
2017 MacBook Pro i7 4-core = 3.1GHz 4-core i7, 16G RAM, Pro 560 GPU
GEEKBENCH Multi-Core CPU Integer Score
GEEKBENCH Multi-Core Floating Point Score
GEEKBENCH OpenCL GPU Compute TEST
The OpenCL Score combines the results of 8 tests. The higher the score, the faster the Mac. The 2018 MacBook Pro GPUs are highlighted in RED.
CONCLUSIONS
The 2018 MacBook Pro 15 inch is a CPU crunch contender -- at least when running brief benchmarks like Geekbench. Extended activity with CPU intensive pro apps have been reported to cause Thermal Throttling, nullifying Turbo Boost and even dropping below the standard clock rating. If that is a concern, you can use the Intel Power Gadget app to monitor the CPU clock frequency during your typical workflow.
The 2018 MacBook Pro's 560X GPU, however, is not impressive. Consider budgeting for an eGPU box with a high-end GPU (like the AMD Radeon Vega series) if your GPU intensive applications flounder. And even then, many apps ignore the eGPU unless the primary display is connected directly to the GPU inside.
NOTE: The new Blackmagic eGPU is getting a lot of attention. Be aware that it comes with an AMD Radeon Pro 580 pre-installed. You can't upgrade the GPU. On the positive side, it does support the LG UltraFine 5K with one of the Thunderbolt 3 ports. It also has an HDMI port. If you want freedom to choose your own fire-breathing GPU, consider the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box or the AKiTiO Node Pro eGFX Box or the Mercury Helios FX.
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