"BARE facts on Mac speed FEATS"
Rob-ART, Main Mad Scientist (aka Dr. Frankenstein)
Bet-TAY, Special Features Edtior (aka Frau Blucher)

GPU "Shoot 'em Up":
Early 2008 MacBook Pros
versus others

Originally posted April 1st, 2008, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist

In this article, we compare two "early 2008" MacBook Pros various other models running both Pro Apps and 3D Games.

PRO APP GRAPH LEGEND
MBP 2.6 '08 = 15" MacBook Pro 2.6GHz "Penryn" (6M L2, 512M VRAM)
MBP 2.4 '08 = 15" MacBook PRo 2.4GHz "Penryn" (3M L2, 256M VRAM)
MBP 2.4 '07 = 17" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz "Santa Rosa" (4M L2, 256M VRAM)

PRO APP INSIGHTS
We're still trying to figure out how to benchmark apps like Aperture to show the effects of the GPU but the indications above are that Pro Apps (like Motion) that use a combination of CPU and GPU will see gains when the "early 2008" MacBook Pros are used.

3D GAME GRAPH LEGEND
MBP 2.6 15" '08 = 15" MacBook Pro 2.6GHz (GeForce 8600M GT, 512M)
MBP 2.6 15" '07 = 15" MacBook Pro 2.6GHz (GeForce 8600M GT, 256M)
MBP 2.4 15" '08 = 15" MacBook PRo 2.4GHz (GeForce 8600M GT, 256M)
MBP 2.4 17" '07 = 17" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz (GeForce 8600M GT, 256M)
MBP 2.4 15" '07 = 15" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz (GeForce 8600M GT, 256M)
MBP 2.3 17" '06 = 17" MacBook Pro 2.33GHz (Mobility Radeon X1600, 256M).

3D GAME INSIGHTS
Notice that the fastest MacBook Pro in the game comparison was the "mid 2007" 17" MacBook Pro with GeForce 8600M. Why? Because the core and memory clock of the graphics processor is allowed to ramp up higher in 17" MacBook Pros -- probably because they have a larger (and therefore more efficient) heat sink than the 15" MacBook Pros.

Just looking at 15" MacBook Pros, the "early 2008" Penryn based MacBook Pros have no advantage over the "2007" Santa Rosa based MacBook Pros with the same graphics processor (GeForce 8600M GT) when it comes to gaming.

We didn't bother to post the numbers, but trust us, you don't want to try running 3D accelerated games on the "Penryn" MacBook or the MacBook Air. They have the integrated GMA X3100 GPU which is a real "dog" when it comes to 3D OpenGL.

BIG MAHALO
Thanks goes out to some of the forum members at InsideMacGames who contributed 3D game test results from their MacBook Pros.

How about CPU intensive apps?
Check out our CPU Crunch tests comparing the 2008 to the 2007 MacBook Pro.

WHERE TO BUY A MACBOOK PRO
When ordering products from Apple Store USA, please click THIS TEXT LINK or any Apple display ad as your "portal" to the online store. In so doing, you help to support Bare Feats.

Also check with Small Dog Electronics and Power Max. (Power Max takes trade-ins.)

WHERE TO BUY MEMORY FOR MAC LAPTOPS
We have tested the memory from the following third party companies in our MacBook Pro. We can recommend them wholeheartedly:

TransIntl.com is selling kits to take your MacBook Pro to 4GB.

Other World Computing sells various kits for the MacBook Pro.

Has Bare Feats helped you? How about helping Bare Feats?

© 2008 Rob Art Morgan
"BARE facts on Macintosh speed FEATS"
Email , the webmaster