Blazing MacBook Pro Benchmarks

After being available for less than a week, benchmarks for the new line of MacBook Pro are already rolling in. In a word, these machines are FAST. Powered by Intel’s highly anticipated “Sandy Bridge” processors, initial benchmarks show performance up to three times faster than the previous generation. According to GeekBench, the highest end MacBook Pro is even capable of outperforming some models of Mac Pro desktops. Even the lowest end 13-inch machine is as fast as the top of the line model from last year.

These impressive performance gains are due largely to Intel’s implementation of dual and quad-core processors across the family of machines. The 32nm based Sandy Bridge micro architecture featured in these models places the processor, cache, memory controller, and graphics engine on a single chip—giving way to radically improved performance. Coupled with sister technologies such as Turbo Boost 2.0 and Hyper-Threading, core speed and the overall number of processing cores are enhanced and virtually increased.

Combined with the revolutionary Thunderbolt I/O technology, enhanced AMD graphics, and FaceTime HD camera, this generation marks the biggest revision to the line since the introduction of the unibody design in 2008. If you’ve been sidelining MacBook Pro updates for the past few years, or are struggling to get your work done on an older machine, now is the perfect time to upgrade. Featuring technologies still unavailable in other flagship Macs, the MacBook Pro is the next generation in portable computing—here today.

For comprehensive benchmarks including comparison to previous generation machines, click here.