Geekbench 2 results are starting to appear on the Geekbench Browser for the new MacBook Airs and the new MacBook Pros announced yesterday.
In order to see how much of a performance boost the new models bring, I’ve collected 32-bit Geekbench 2 results for all of the models available on the Geekbench Browser. I’ve then compared these scores against the scores for their 2011 and 2010 counterparts.
If you’re not familiar with Geekbench 2, higher Geekbench 2 scores are better. Also, keep in mind that Geekbench 2 only measures processor and memory performance; it won’t measure the benefits of new video cards or storage devices.
Oh, if you’re curious how your computer stacks up against the new MacBook Airs or the new MacBook Pros you can download Geekbench and find out (it’s a free download).
MacBook Air Benchmarks, 2010 to 2012
| 13-inch Mid 2012 Intel Core i7-3667U 2.0 GHz (2 cores) |
7,007 | |
| 11-inch Mid 2012 Intel Core i7-3667U 2.0 GHz (2 cores) |
7,004 | |
| 13-inch Mid 2012 Intel Core i5-3427U 1.8 GHz (2 cores) |
6,197 | |
| 11-inch Mid 2012 Intel Core i5-3317U 1.7 GHz (2 cores) |
5,770 | |
| 11-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i7-2677M 1.8 GHz (2 cores) |
5,710 | |
| 13-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2557M 1.7 GHz (2 cores) |
5,268 | |
| 11-inch Mid 2011 Intel Core i5-2467M 1.6 GHz (2 cores) |
4,587 | |
| 13-inch Late 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo L9600 2.13 GHz (2 cores) |
3,011 | |
| 13-inch Late 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo L9400 1.86 GHz (2 cores) |
2,689 | |
| 11-inch Late 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo U9600 1.6 GHz (2 cores) |
2,271 | |
| 11-inch Late 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo U9400 1.4 GHz (2 cores) |
2,025 |
Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processor, with its faster processors and more efficient architecture, means that last year’s fastest MacBook Air is slightly slower than this year’s slowest MacBook Air.
MacBook Pro Benchmarks, 2010 to 2012
| 15-inch Mid 2012 Intel Core i7-3820QM 2.7 GHz (4 cores) |
12,303 | |
| 15-inch Retina Display Intel Core i7-3720QM 2.6 GHz (4 cores) |
11,844 | |
| 15-inch Mid 2012 Intel Core i7-3720QM 2.6 GHz (4 cores) |
11,800 | |
| 15-inch Retina Display Intel Core i7-3615QM 2.3 GHz (4 cores) |
10,810 | |
| 17-inch Late 2011 Intel Core i7-2860QM 2.5 GHz (4 cores) |
10,760 | |
| 15-inch Late 2011 Intel Core i7-2860QM 2.5 GHz (4 cores) |
10,642 | |
| 17-inch Late 2011 Intel Core i7-2760QM 2.4 GHz (4 cores) |
10,420 | |
| 15-inch Late 2011 Intel Core i7-2760QM 2.4 GHz (4 cores) |
10,360 | |
| 15-inch Early 2011 Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3 GHz (4 cores) |
10,191 | |
| 17-inch Early 2011 Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3 GHz (4 cores) |
10,124 | |
| 17-inch Early 2011 Intel Core i7-2720QM 2.2 GHz (4 cores) |
9,868 | |
| 15-inch Early 2011 Intel Core i7-2720QM 2.2 GHz (4 cores) |
9,834 | |
| 15-inch Late 2011 Intel Core i7-2675QM 2.2 GHz (4 cores) |
9,315 | |
| 15-inch Early 2011 Intel Core i7-2635QM 2.0 GHz (4 cores) |
8,712 | |
| 13-inch Late 2011 Intel Core i7-2640M 2.8 GHz (2 cores) |
6,964 | |
| 13-inch Early 2011 Intel Core i7-2620M 2.7 GHz (2 cores) |
6,782 | |
| 13-inch Late 2011 Intel Core i5-2435M 2.4 GHz (2 cores) |
6,047 | |
| 13-inch Early 2011 Intel Core i5-2415M 2.3 GHz (2 cores) |
5,881 | |
| 15-inch Early 2010 Intel Core i7-640M 2.8 GHz (2 cores) |
5,852 | |
| 17-inch Early 2010 Intel Core i7-640M 2.8 GHz (2 cores) |
5,785 | |
| 17-inch Early 2010 Intel Core i7-620M 2.6 GHz (2 cores) |
5,543 | |
| 15-inch Early 2010 Intel Core i7-620M 2.6 GHz (2 cores) |
5,540 | |
| 15-inch Early 2010 Intel Core i5-540M 2.5 GHz (2 cores) |
4,973 | |
| 17-inch Early 2010 Intel Core i5-540M 2.5 GHz (2 cores) |
4,955 | |
| 15-inch Early 2010 Intel Core i5-520M 2.4 GHz (2 cores) |
4,860 | |
| 13-inch Early 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 2.66 GHz (2 cores) |
3,652 | |
| 13-inch Early 2010 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4 GHz (2 cores) |
3,328 |
As with the new MacBook Airs, Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors bring noticeable performance improvements to the new MacBook Pros.
Currently there are no 32-bit results for any of the new 13-inch MacBook Pros; is this an indication that most people prefer the lighter 13-inch MacBook Air or the more powerful 15-inch MacBook Pro over the 13-inch MacBook Pro?
Also worth noting is that both the regular MacBook Pro and the Retina MacBook Pro use the same processors. Users trying to decide whether to get the thinner Retina MacBook Pro won’t have to worry that it will be slower than the regular MacBook Pro.