The standard MacBook Pro, with its discrete graphics and speedier Core i7 processor, was faster in seven tests, including MathematicaMark 8, Portal 2, and Cinebench’s OpenGL and CPU tests.
The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro was faster in seven tests, including a file duplication test that took five times longer to complete on the non-Retina MacBook Pro’s standard 5400-rpm hard drive. The high-end 13-inch 2.6GHz Core i5 Retina MacBook Pro’s Speedmark 8 score was 24 percent higher than that of the high-end 13-inch 2.9GHz Core i7 standard MacBook Pro, due almost entirely to the Retina MacBook Pro’s faster flash storage. With both systems sharing so many specifications (graphics, flash storage, RAM), it’s not surprising that most tests results were very close, and some were even identical. The new 13-inch 2.6GHz Retina MacBook Pro earned a Speedmark 8 score of 190, about 3 percent faster than the 13-inch base model with its 2.5GHz Core i5 processor. To see how these new updates affect performance, we ran our Speedmark 8 overall system performance benchmark suite, which helps us compare the new system’s results to those of previous systems and other Apple portables. Reference models in italics.-Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith, Albert Filice, and Kean Bartelman. The high-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro has a faster 2.7GHz Core i7 quad-core processor, a whopping 16GB of 1600MHz memory, and the same 500GB of flash storage and dual integrated/discrete graphics as the previous high-end standard-configuration Retina MacBook Pro.Įarly 2013 Retina MacBook Pros: Speedmark 8 Scoresġ5-inch Retina MacBook Pro/2.7GHz Core i7 (Early 2013)ġ5-inch Retina MacBook Pro/2.4GHz Core i7 (Early 2013)ġ3-inch Retina MacBook Pro/2.6GHz Core i5 (Early 2013)ġ3-inch Retina MacBook Pro/2.5GHz Core i5 (Late 2012)ġ5-inch Retina MacBook Pro/2.6GHz Core i7 (Mid 2012)ġ5-inch Retina MacBook Pro/2.3GHz Core i7 (Mid 2012)ġ3-inch MacBook Pro/2.9GHz Core i7 (Mid 2012)ġ3-inch MacBook Air/1.8GHz Core i5 (Mid 2012)ġ5-inch MacBook Pro/2.53GHz Core i5 (Mid 2010)ġ5-inch MacBook Pro/2.6GHz Core 2 Duo BTO (Early 2008)Īll results are scores. It also features the same 8GB of 1600MHz memory (upgradable to 16GB for $200 more, but only at the point of purchase) and 256GB of flash storage as before, as well as both integrated and discrete graphics in the form of Intel’s HD Graphics 4000 and Nvidia’s GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory.
The new 15-inch models cost the same as their predecessors ($2199 and $2799), but the base model now has a faster, 2.4GHz Core i7 quad-core processor and supports both Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost. The 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro is actually 0.04 inch thinner than the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, and weighs in at 4.46 pounds, about the same as the non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro. The new 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros have 2880-by-1800-pixel resolution, with a slightly lower pixel density-220 ppi-than the 13-inch Retina model. The $1699 model includes 256GB of flash storage, twice the capacity of the $1499 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. Like the $1499 model, this system comes with 8GB of 1600MHz memory (not upgradable) and Intel’s integrated HD Graphics 4000. Even with the reduced price, the system comes with a slightly faster processor-a 2.6GHz Core i5, versus the 2.5GHz Core i5 in the previous model. The base model has 8GB of 1600MHz memory, 128GB of speedy flash storage, and integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000.Īt $1699, the new high-end 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro costs $300 less than its predecessor. The Core i5 processors in the 13-inch MacBook Pros do not support Hyper-Threading, an Intel technology that allows applications to access two virtual cores for each physical processor.
It has a 2.5GHz dual-core Core i5 processor with Intel’s Turbo Boost technology, which allows the processor to reach speeds of up to 3.1GHz for short periods of high demand. The 13-inch base model’s specifications remain unchanged, but its price has dropped from $1699 to $1499.