Application Performance

3D

Maxwell Render 1.7.1. Benchwell render.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.7x

Up to 1.7x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Maxwell test file: sculpture.mxs (www.benchwell.com). Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Baseline
Power Mac G5
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 5.8x

Up to 5.8x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Maxwell test file: sculpture.mxs (www.benchwell.com). Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Modo 302. 3D rendering.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.3x

Up to 1.3x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Modo test files: BathFaucet.lxo and Couch.lxo. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Baseline
Power Mac G5
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 4.8x

Up to 4.8x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Modo test files: BathFaucet.lxo and Couch.lxo. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Cinebench 10.1. Multiple-processor rendering test.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.3x

Up to 1.3x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 3.6x

Up to 3.6x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

RealFlow 4.3.8.0123. BreakingDam simulation.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.6x

Up to 1.6x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. RealFlow test file: BreakingDam.flw (www.realflow.com/n_benchmarking.htm). Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Baseline
Power Mac G5
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 5.0x

Up to 5.0x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. RealFlow test file: BreakingDam.flw (www.realflow.com/n_benchmarking.htm). Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Video

Final Cut Studio 2. ProRes to H.264 encode.

Video on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.5x

Up to 1.5x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Content was encoded using the Compressor 3.0.5 H.264 for iPod Video 640x480 preset and Qmaster with the maximum number of instances available on each system. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 2.4x

Up to 2.4x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Content was encoded using the Compressor 3.0.5 H.264 for iPod Video 640x480 preset and Qmaster with the maximum number of instances available on each system. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Final Cut Studio 2. ProRes render.

Video on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.2x

Up to 1.2x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 2.2x

Up to 2.2x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Final Cut Studio 2. HDV to H.264 encode.

Video on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.2x

Up to 1.2x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Content was encoded using the Compressor 3.0.5 H.264 for iPod Video 640x480 preset and Qmaster with the maximum number of instances available on each system. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 2.6x

Up to 2.6x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Content was encoded using the Compressor 3.0.5 H.264 for iPod Video 640x480 preset and Qmaster with the maximum number of instances available on each system. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Final Cut Studio 2. HDV render.

Video on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.1x

Up to 1.1x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 2.2x

Up to 2.2x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

After Effects CS4 (9.0.1). RAM preview and render.

Video on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.4x

Up to 1.4x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. After Effects CS4 test files: Animal.aet and Monolith.aet. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Technical Computing

Mathematica 7.0. MathematicaMark7.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.8x

Up to 1.8x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Baseline
Power Mac G5
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 5.4x

Up to 5.4x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Xcode 3.1.1. Build and clean project.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.2x

Up to 1.2x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Xcode results based on build and clean time of Adium 1.3.2 (www.adiumx.com). Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 3.5x

Up to 3.5x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Xcode results based on build and clean time of Adium 1.3.2 (www.adiumx.com). Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Science

OsiriX 3.3.2 (64-bit Extension). Volume and surface render.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.4x

Up to 1.4x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. OsiriX test file: DICOM sample image set MANIX. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Baseline
Power Mac G5
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 4.2x

Up to 4.2x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. OsiriX test file: DICOM sample image set MANIX. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

LabVIEW 8.6. Multicore demo.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.3x

Up to 1.3x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. LabVIEW test file: MulticoreDemo.llb (zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/8565). Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Imaging and Graphics

Aperture 2.1.2. Common application tasks.

Imaging and Graphics on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.2x

Up to 1.2x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 2.8x

Up to 2.8x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Photoshop CS4 (11.0). 45 filters and functions.

Imaging and Graphics on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.2x

Up to 1.2x faster than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Photoshop test file size: 400MB. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Power Mac G5 Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 1.9x

Up to 1.9x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and production 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad. Photoshop test file size: 400MB. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.


Hardware Performance

Synthetic Performance Tests

STREAM. Memory throughput.

3D on Mac Pro
Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Baseline
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz 2.4x

Up to 2.4x greater than previous-generation Mac Pro

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Results are based on the STREAM v. 5.8 benchmark (www.cs.virginia.edu/stream/ref.html) using OMP support for multiprocessor-compiled builds. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

CINT2006 Rate and CFP2006 Rate. Integer and floating-point calculation results.

3D on Mac Pro
  Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz
(previous generation)
Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz
SPECfp_rate_base2006
Floating-point calculation (estimate)
77.3 144 1.9x
SPECint_rate_base2006
Integer calculation (estimate)
106 158 1.5x

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. SPEC® is a registered trademark of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC); see www.spec.org for more information. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Graphics Cards

Call of Duty 4. timedemo.

graphic card Baseline
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB GDDR3 (previous generation)
graphic card NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB GDDR3 2.9x
graphic card ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 6.6x

Up to 6.6x improvement compared to previous standard graphics card

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units with NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 and ATI Radeon HD 4870; and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units with ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Tested using Call of Duty 4 v1.7.1, Timedemoambush, Timedemobog, Timedemopipeline, maximum graphics quality, 4x anti-aliasing, at 1680x1050. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Quake 4. timedemo.

graphic card Baseline
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB GDDR3 (previous generation)
graphic card 2.2x
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB GDDR3
graphic card ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 5.1x

Up to 5.1x improvement compared to previous standard graphics card

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units with NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 and ATI Radeon HD 4870; and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units with ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Tested using Quake 4 v1.3, netTimeDemo: demo001, ultra graphics quality, 4x anti-aliasing, at 1680x1050. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Motion 3.0.2. Playback and export speed.

graphic card Baseline
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB GDDR3 (previous generation)
graphic card NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB GDDR3 1.5x
graphic card ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 3.0x

Up to 3x improvement compared to previous standard graphics card

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units with NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 and ATI Radeon HD 4870; and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units with ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT. Systems were configured with 6GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz and 8GB of RAM for Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

RAID Cards

SAS RAID 5 vs SATA RAID 5. Read and write performance.

graphic card

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and preproduction Mac Pro RAID Card. Testing was conducted using Iometer 2006.07.27 with a 30-second ramp-up, 5-miniute run duration, 512KB request size, and 4 outstanding IOs. The test system was configured in a two-volume configuration with a single JBOD drive for the OS and the remaining three drives as the test volume on which Iometer tests were performed. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro RAID Card.

Simultaneous Final Cut Studio 2 Streams. Three-drive SAS RAID 5 vs. SATA RAID 5 performance.

graphic card

Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and preproduction Mac Pro RAID Card. Testing was conducted with Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 using simultaneous unique 10-miniute clips for each content type. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro RAID Card.