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MillimeterTest Drive: Apple Mac Pro, Part 1
Jun 8, 2009 12:00 PM, By Jan Ozer
When some people get a powerful new computer, they want to produce a new video, play games, or show it off to their friends. I just want to run as many tests as possible to analyze its performance, which I guess means that I’m well suited for this portion of my job description.
This navel-gazing aside, I have in my hands an Intel Nehalem-based Apple Mac Pro, specifically a 2.93GHz dual-processor, quad-core unit running Mac OS 10.5.7 with 12GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon HD 4870 driving a beautiful Apple LED Cinema Display. In this month’s first installment, I’ll compare performance of this computer with that of two older Macs running a variety of programs. Next issue, I’ll open up the case and delve into options such as a RAID hard-disk controller, multiple graphics boards, and different RAM configurations, assuming that I can convince someone to send me 24GB of RAM in 4GB dual in-line memory modules (DIMMS).
Preliminary Matters
Briefly, in my review of the Mac Pro for millimeter, I described what the new Nehalem-based Intel Xeon CPUs brought to the table, which essentially is increased throughput between main memory and the CPU, and faster CPU performance. My hard-hearted editors frown on my using the same material twice (or, I should say, charging for it twice), so I won’t repeat the bulk of that information. I’ve looked at the Nehalem CPU a few times now, and you can find the most comprehensive description, albeit within the context of a Windows workstation, here.
I ran three sets of tests for this article, one of which is included in the Mac Pro review, which I’ll include for completeness. Let’s start with a brief review of those.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
