Earlier this week Apple released new iMacs which feature Intel's next-generation quad-core Sandy Bridge processors. To see how well the Sandy Bridge iMacs perform I've collected Geekbench 2 results from the Geekbench Browser for these new iMacs and compared them against the previous Wolfdale (Core 2 Duo) and Lynnfield (Core ix) iMacs. While results aren't available for all the Sandy Bridge iMac configurations (in particular I don't have results for the 21.5-inch Core i7 iMac) there are enough results here to examine the performance of the new iMacs. Update! Results are now available for all of the Sandy Bridge iMacs (including the 21.5-inch Core i7 iMac). I've updated the chart below with the results.
For people not familiar with Geekbench 2, higher scores are better. Also, Geekbench 2 only measures processor and memory performance; it won't measure the benefits of new video cards or storage devices.
Finally, if you're curious how your computer stacks up against the new iMacs you can download Geekbench and find out (it's a free download).
iMac Benchmarks, 2009 to 2011
| 27-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i7-2600 3.4 GHz (4 cores) |
11,648 | |
| 21.5-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i7-2600S 2.8 GHz (4 cores) |
10,248 | |
| 27-inch Mid 2010 Intel Core i7 870 2.93 GHz (4 cores) |
9,123 | |
| 27-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2400 3.1 GHz (4 cores) |
8,357 | |
| 27-inch Late 2009 Intel Core i7 860 2.8 GHz (4 cores) |
8,335 | |
| 21.5-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2500S 2.7 GHz (4 cores) |
7,890 | |
| 27-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2500S 2.7 GHz (4 cores) |
7,844 | |
| 21.5-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2400S 2.5 GHz (4 cores) |
7,241 | |
| 27-inch Mid 2010 Intel Core i5 680 3.6 GHz (2 cores) |
6,934 | |
| 21.5-inch Mid 2010 Intel Core i5 680 3.6 GHz (2 cores) |
6,828 | |
| 27-inch Mid 2010 Intel Core i5 760 2.8 GHz (4 cores) |
6,726 | |
| 27-inch Mid 2010 Intel Core i3 550 3.2 GHz (2 cores) |
5,922 | |
| 21.5-inch Mid 2010 Intel Core i3 550 3.2 GHz (2 cores) |
5,854 | |
| 21.5-inch Mid 2010 Intel Core i3 540 3.07 GHz (2 cores) |
5,681 | |
| Late 2009 Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 3.33 GHz (2 cores) |
4,647 | |
| Late 2009 Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 3.06 GHz (2 cores) |
4,221 |
While the improvements aren't as dramatic as with the Sandy Bridge MacBook Pros, there's a consistent 25% performance improvement between Sandy Bridge and Lynnfield at both the low-end and the high-end of the iMac model range (and over a 70% improvement between Sandy Bridge and Wolfdale). While this update may not tempt Lynnfield iMac owners into upgrading, it's certainly a compelling upgrade for Wolfdale iMac users.