Yesterday Geekbench results for two unknown Macs (an iMac13,2 and a MacBookPro9,1) were uploaded to the Geekbench Browser. Both results generated a lot of interest from the Mac community with people wondering if these results are from unreleased Macs. System information can be falsified under Mac OS X so it's possible these results are an elaborate prank.
I believe both results are legitimate and are from unreleased Macs. While it's certainly possible to falsify model information under Mac OS X, there are none of the tell-tale inconsistencies that suggest the information has been altered or faked. Also, both Macs are running unreleased builds of Mountain Lion, further suggesting that both results are from pre-release Macs undergoing testing.
Assuming both results are real, there's nothing too surprising revealed about either Mac. Both Macs have Ivy Bridge processors, which is what most people expect in the next Mac update. How much extra performance do the new Ivy Bridge processors provide?
MacBook Pro Benchmarks, Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge
| MacBookPro9,1 Intel Core i7-3820QM 2.7 GHz (4 cores) |
12,252 | |
| MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011) Intel Core i7-2860QM 2.5 GHz (4 cores) |
10,632 |
The MacBook Pro sees the largest jump in performance thanks to both a modest increase in processor frequency (2.7GHz vs 2.5GHz) and the new Ivy Bridge architecture.
iMac Benchmarks, Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge
| iMac13,2 Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz (4 cores) |
12,183 | |
| iMac (27-inch Mid 2011) Intel Core i7-2600 3.4 GHz (4 cores) |
11,497 |
The iMac sees a smaller jump in performance since both iMacs have the same processor frequency (3.4GHz). However, the new Ivy Bridge architecture provides a 6% increase in performance over last year's Sandy Bridge architecture.
For me, the one thing that stands out is that both Macs are running Mountain Lion rather than Lion. This suggests that these Macs won't be released until Mountain Lion is released later this summer. Unfortunately, this means we still have a little while to wait for new iMacs and MacBook Pros.