Game Benchmarks on current Mac Pro 2.8GHz Quad-Core Xeon

[Irishman]

Hey, guys and gals,

I'm looking to decide the difference in gaming performance between the 3.06GHz iMac and the entry-level Quad-core Mac Pro.

I've found a plethora of online figures showing framerrates of modern game benchmarking running native under OS X.

But, I haven't found anything regarding the Mac Pro games to speak of, especially with the upgrade GeForce 8800 GT card.

Does anyone own this Mac Pro and can attest to its performance on modern games?

This will play a part in my decision making process.

 

[Consultant]

barefeats.com

have gaming benchmarks. Magazines and their web site such as MacWorld might also have benchmarks.

 

[Irishman]

Yeah, they were my first stops.

No go.

 

[savvos]

The benchmarks are at Barefeats, just a little obscured.

Here are the comparisons of JUST Mac Pros:

http://barefeats.com/harper17.html

http://barefeats.com/harper18.html

And here is a comparison of the Mac Pro with the 8800 GT (top bar) against the iMacs:

http://barefeats.com/imp01.html

The performance is similar, but the iMac is a little slower. In most games the graphics card is more important than the processor speed (which is why many have suggested buying the 2.8Ghz 24" iMac and upgrading the graphics card to save $200 rather than buy the stock 3.06Ghz iMac).

You will want to look at the "Harper" scores for the current Mac Pro.

 

[Irishman]

The benchmarks are at Barefeats, just a little obscured.

Here are the comparisons of JUST Mac Pros:

http://barefeats.com/harper17.html

http://barefeats.com/harper18.html

And here is a comparison of the Mac Pro with the 8800 GT (top bar) against the iMacs:

http://barefeats.com/imp01.html

The performance is similar, but the iMac is a little slower. In most games the graphics card is more important than the processor speed (which is why many have suggested buying the 2.8Ghz 24" iMac and upgrading the graphics card to save $200 rather than buy the stock 3.06Ghz iMac).

You will want to look at the "Harper" scores for the current Mac Pro.

I appreciate the help, but it really didn't tell me what I wanted to know.

The first link didn't show the 2.8GHz Quad-core Mac Pro (Harpertown) with 8800 GT.

The second link only ran Windows games under Boot Camp.

The third link compared the new iMac with a 2007 Mac Pro.

Not very helpful, but I very much appreciate the effort you put forth.

 

[MacsRgr8]

I bet the difference is minimal... ATM.
IIRC the 8800 GT in the Mac Pro is about 10% faster than the 8800 GS found in the iMac.
Not many games use more than 1 Core, let alone more than 2 Cores. So getting a Quad Core now won't help you a lot in today's games. Having said that.... the industry is moving toward utilising / optimising the use of more Cores. So maybe not today, but probably next year you might feel the benefits of having a 4 Core (or more) machine in gaming. Windows and Mac.

Added the fact that the Mac Pro has a faster FSB, more L2 cache, can handle more RAM, and the grfx card is replaceable... it definitely is the better choice.

I am sorry I don't have any FPS to show you.

 

[Irishman]

I bet the difference is minimal... ATM.
IIRC the 8800 GT in the Mac Pro is about 10% faster than the 8800 GS found in the iMac.
Not many games use more than 1 Core, let alone more than 2 Cores. So getting a Quad Core now won't help you a lot in today's games. Having said that.... the industry is moving toward utilising / optimising the use of more Cores. So maybe not today, but probably next year you might feel the benefits of having a 4 Core (or more) machine in gaming. Windows and Mac.

Added the fact that the Mac Pro has a faster FSB, more L2 cache, can handle more RAM, and the grfx card is replaceable... it definitely is the better choice.

I am sorry I don't have any FPS to show you.

Correct me if I'm wrorng, but any game that uses an id engine will be mp-aware. id has drank the mp Kool-aid a long time ago.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Correct me if I'm wrorng, but any game that uses an id engine will be mp-aware. id has drank the mp Kool-aid a long time ago.

Quake 4 was the first game to enable the use of SMP... (needed patch and manually enabled too).
I assume that all future Id games will support / benefit from SMP. But will that be seriously more than 2 cores as well?

 

[Arty]

Has anyone Falcon4 Open Falcon or Freefalcon to test it on bootcamp?
Newbie here the Mac Pro can have SLI? or whatever but use 2 vga's?
Arty out...