There are enough results in the Geekbench Browser for last week's new Mac models that I can now update the Mac Benchmark charts. To highlight the performance of the new Mac mini and the new MacBook Air I've provided charts below that compare the new Macs against other Macs. This allows you to easily see the performance improvements with the new Macs.
The results below are based on 32-bit results from the Geekbench Browser (both 32-bit and 64-bit results are available on the Mac Benchmark page). Geekbench scores are calibrated using the original entry-level Power Mac G5 as a baseline with a score of 1,000 points. Higher scores are better, with double the score indicating double the performance.
Mac mini Benchmarks, 2009 to 2011
| Mid 2011 Intel Core i7-2635QM 2.0 GHz (4 cores) |
8,586 | |
| Mid 2011 Intel Core i7-2620M 2.7 GHz (2 cores) |
6,977 | |
| Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2520M 2.5 GHz (2 cores) |
6,465 | |
| Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2415M 2.3 GHz (2 cores) |
5,842 | |
| Late 2009 Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 2.66 GHz (2 cores) |
3,697 | |
| Early 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 2.66 GHz (2 cores) |
3,627 | |
| Late 2009 Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53 GHz (2 cores) |
3,526 | |
| Early 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4 GHz (2 cores) |
3,310 | |
| Late 2009 Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 2.26 GHz (2 cores) |
3,204 | |
| Early 2009 Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26 GHz (2 cores) |
3,102 | |
| Early 2009 Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 2.0 GHz (2 cores) |
2,818 |
The Sandy Bridge processors in the new Mac mini provides a tremendous boost in performance: the quad-core Mac mini server is 2.3x faster than the previous Mac mini while the dual-core Mac minis are 1.6x to 1.9x faster.
Another interesting thing (not shown in the chart above) is that the Mac mini server has roughly the same performance as the entry-level Mac Pro. While this will not hold true after the next Mac Pro update (which is overdue), it's impressive to see Apple's smallest computer provide comparable performance to Apple's largest computer!
If processor performance is your primary concern, and if you don't mind limited internal upgrade options, the Mac mini provides a tiny, power-efficient, and reasonably priced alternative to the Mac Pro.
MacBook Air and Pro Benchmarks, 2010 to 2011
| Pro (17-inch Early 2011) Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3 GHz (4 cores) |
10,370 | |
| Pro (15-inch Early 2011) Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3 GHz (4 cores) |
10,304 | |
| Pro (15-inch Early 2011) Intel Core i7-2720QM 2.2 GHz (4 cores) |
9,980 | |
| Pro (17-inch Early 2011) Intel Core i7-2720QM 2.2 GHz (4 cores) |
9,963 | |
| Pro (15-inch Early 2011) Intel Core i7-2635QM 2.0 GHz (4 cores) |
8,775 | |
| Pro (13-inch Early 2011) Intel Core i7-2620M 2.7 GHz (2 cores) |
6,864 | |
| Pro (13-inch Early 2011) Intel Core i5-2415M 2.3 GHz (2 cores) |
5,910 | |
| Air (13-inch Mid 2011) Intel Core i7-2677M 1.8 GHz (2 cores) |
5,826 | |
| Air (11-inch Mid 2011) Intel Core i7-2677M 1.8 GHz (2 cores) |
5,796 | |
| Air (13-inch Mid 2011) Intel Core i5-2557M 1.7 GHz (2 cores) |
5,353 | |
| Air (11-inch Mid 2011) Intel Core i5-2467M 1.6 GHz (2 cores) |
4,557 | |
| MacBook Air (13-inch Late 2010) Intel Core 2 Duo L9600 2.13 GHz (2 cores) |
3,013 | |
| Air (13-inch Late 2010) Intel Core 2 Duo L9400 1.86 GHz (2 cores) |
2,678 | |
| Air (11-inch Late 2010) Intel Core 2 Duo U9600 1.6 GHz (2 cores) |
2,268 | |
| MacBook Air (11-inch Late 2010) Intel Core 2 Duo U9400 1.4 GHz (2 cores) |
2,021 |
Like the Mac mini, the new Sandy Bridge processors provide a tremendous performance boost to the MacBook Air lineup: the 13-inch MacBook Air is 1.9x faster than the previous 13-inch MacBook Air, while the 11-inch MacBook Air is an incredible 2.6x faster.
The Core i7-based MacBook Air is almost as fast as the Core i5-based MacBook Pro (only 20% slower). While there has always been a (sometimes sizable) gap between the fastest MacBook Air and the slowest MacBook Pro, this update eradicates that gap. Now it's no longer a question of whether users want a light laptop or a fast laptop; it's a question of whether users want a light laptop or a heavy laptop.
Unfortunately, users who don't just want a fast laptop but the fastest laptop still have to pick the "heavy" 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro.
What About Arrandale?
Looking at these results I'm surprised at how long Apple stuck with the Core 2 processor. Intel's Core i5 and Core i7 "Arrandale" processors have been out for for 18 months, and have models suitable for both the Mac mini and Macbook Air. Why did Apple wait for the release of the Core i5 and Core i7 "Sandy Bridge" processors in order to make the switch?
It turns out the answer lies with graphics chips. Mac OS X relies heavily on graphics chips, or GPUs, and needs a graphics chip that performs well. While the other Macs can use discrete GPUs, both the Mac mini and MacBook Air have space constraints that rule out discrete GPUs. This means Apple can only use integrated graphics in these models.
Thanks to Intel's lawsuits against NVIDIA, Apple couldn't use NVIDIA's integrated chipset graphics. The only option Apple had was Intel's integrated chipset graphics, which are known for their poor performance. So while the Arrandale processors would've provided a performance boost the integrated graphics would've provided a performance drop.
Sandy Bridge, however, ships with integrated graphics that are "good enough". Apple can use Sandy Bridge to provide processor performance improvements while assuring decent graphics.
Final Thoughts
Overall I'm really impressed with the updates to the Mac mini and MacBook Air. Now that Apple has moved away from Intel's aging Core 2 architecture, users have great performance across the entire Mac lineup.