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'Real World' Photoshop Benchmark - Speed Test

Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 12 GB
ATI Radeon HD 5770
SSD HD for boot and scratch disk

2011: CS5 28.8 sec

2007: CS 36 sec
(Back in 2007 when I got the machine, with Nvidia 8800GT, regular HDD and 3GB RAM)
 
22.8 seconds

Mac Pro 2,1
3.0GHz 8-Core Xeon
16 GB RAM
Radeon HD 5870
7200 RPM Hard Drive
10.7.1
Photoshop CS5.5
 
Mac Mini 2011 Server Quad Core i7

I know this is in the Mac Pro section, but thought i'd share my results.

Tried this a few times on my new mac mini 2011 server - stock configuration quad core i7 2.0, 4gb men.

After 5 mins, it was still running - so I just gave up (after several attempts).

Are the new mac mini's really that bad? I think a return to apple may be the order of the day here.
 
holme73 said:
I know this is in the Mac Pro section, but thought i'd share my results.

Tried this a few times on my new mac mini 2011 server - stock configuration quad core i7 2.0, 4gb men.

After 5 mins, it was still running - so I just gave up (after several attempts).

Are the new mac mini's really that bad? I think a return to apple may be the order of the day here.
Click to expand...

Try restarting the computer and then trying the test again to see if there are any speed improvements. It definitely should not be taking even upwards of a minute for a Mac like yours.
 
Well I tried again, several times. Fresh restart for each. The best I can get from my Mac Mini 2011 Server is a massive:

4min 43.6s

Which, I'm pretty shocked with. I never expected to match a Mac pro, but that really is a massive gulf in time.

The processor should be up to the task, so it's either the lack of a dedicated video card or the lack of memory - still using the stock 4gb ram.

But still....

I had hoped the power was there in the mini to perform Indesign & Photoshop tasks, but I now think I may be better off returning the mini and going for an entry Mac Pro, even though the benchmarks are similar. The mac mini looked ideal for power and small footprint.
 
Mac Mini Server Quad i7 stock 4gb men

Ok, I reset the history levels back to 1 and cache 4 in Photoshop and tried again with a more respectable:

17.9s

So not too bad after all.
 
Macbook Air 4,1
11" 1.6 dual i5, 128gb SSD, 4GB ram,

32.29 seconds (averages low 32's with my slow reaction to the stopwatch)

Will be returning this for a MB Air 4,1 1.8 dual i7 shortly. Interested to see if the higher turbo boost on the i7 will have any affect...

Holding out for the new Mac Pro...but until then I'm happy with the performance of this little guy.
 
Mac Pro Early 2008
2.8 quad core single CPU
8gb RAM
1 minute 3 seconds

..and that's with a ton of apps open and some downloads in the background.

I wanted to test a real world situation.
 
New result to add to the rest:

2011 MacBook Air "Ultimate"
1.8gzh i7 CPU
4 gigs ram
256 ssd

27 seconds.

This is compared to my July 2007 test on a 1,1 2.66ghz Mac Pro at 36 seconds.

And then a later test on the Mac Pro with an SSD at 28 seconds.

A little disappointing on the Macbook Air.
 
mac mini

I have a Mac mini 2.3 Ghz Intel Core i5 with 8 GB Ram, standard hardisk with 5400 rpm, finished after 25 seconds. wow!
 
Sorry...it's not a mac pro...

i5 2500k (4.5ghz)
4gb Ram
640gb hdd with SSD Cache (z68 motherboard)

11.1 seconds!
 
cutthroughthebs said:
About $200... I upgraded from my last version and sold it for a 10% depreciate... What's your hakincrap worth to a PC user... $700 @ most? ButIdont mind spending money for something that has a 3 year warranty. What will it cost you there mr thrifty arrogant? Have fun with your depreciated windows box... I have a buyer right now willing to givens $2k for this Nehalem and Ill put out only $500 to get a new 6 core (including 8GB of ram) and you'll be trying to sell your PC there for peanuts and no warranty. Good try though.
Click to expand...

It's a computer, not a car.. who cares about resale value?? I mean, seriously? It's a recoverable tax expense as it's a business asset anyway. Silly boy. As for warranty, each part you buy has it's own warranty anyway. Who the hell BUYS a whole pre-built computer these days except Joe Public and Mac users?

Anyway..

Intel i7 3960X@ 4.7GHz (6 cores, 12 threads)
16GB DDR3 @ 1600

08.4 secs.

Loads of history states and cache levels.. no great attempt made to lean the system down.. just my everyday set up. I was even streaming HD video from iPlayer at the same time.

Come on Mac boys... do your best to keep up with that :)


We need a new test, as times are getting short now... unless you use a mac of course.. muahahaha!


(Disclaimer: Notice to Mac Users - the above post contains humour, or a rough approximation of it. )
 
Sean Dempsey said:
New result to add to the rest:

2011 MacBook Air "Ultimate"
1.8gzh i7 CPU
4 gigs ram
256 ssd

27 seconds.

SNIP

A little disappointing on the Macbook Air.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure whether your disappointment is ironic or real.
I'm currently looking hard at the MBA13" "ultimate" to possibly replace my i/ iMac and am worrying mainly about two details:
1) processing power (i know geekbench gives the iMac a lead of 3000+ points (9717 vs. 6455), but I just clocked this iMac (again) to 26 seconds flat, so your result is "comparable". Just goes to show the power of SSD, in this test it negates 1 gigahertz and two cores (2,8 i7quad vs 1,8 i7dual)
2) in three words: "HD Graphics 3000"

I really wish someone with a sandy bridge MBP (15" or 17") would post their results...

RGDS,
Pekka
 
We just got a refurbished 8 core 2.4ghz Mac Pro. 2010 model I believe. I should test this thing when we get this beast up and running.

----------

Ahh crap. I just clicked the link and it's not there anymore!

----------

Ahh crap. I just clicked the link and it's not there anymore!
 
Just got some weird results on my (newish) MacBookPro (Early2011, SNB) 2,0 GHz i7Quad
48 seconds.
This although the machine has 8 gigs of memory and an (otherwise) blazingly fast SSD. (See full specs below)

On closer inspection, I noticed that the machine's average CPU utilization was below 25% during the whole process.
Either something is crooked, or I've got one hellu*a bottleneck somewhere. Any ideas?

(Early 2011 MacBook Pro, 15", 2,0 GHz, 8 GB, 120 GB Vertex3, CS4)

EDIT:
Installed CS5 Trial, and the result was more in line with expectations: 18,3 secs (average of four tests).
Just makes me wonder what gives... I never had any problems with CS4 on my i7 iMac...
Again: Suggestions are welcome.

Pekka
 
Last edited:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro3,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per Processor): 12 MB
Memory: 12 GB
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz

System disk: Kingston SSD V100+ 64GB
GPU: Radeon HD 2600XT

Time: 19.5s.
 
Ran it twice; once with Firefox and a few other apps running, and once with a fresh reboot.

System:
2009 Mac Pro
EFI upgrade to 5,1
3.33GHz 6-core W3680
32GB RAM @1333MHz
Areca 1880ix-12 attached to 8-member RAID6 (set as scratch)
ATI 5870 running dual monitors, 22" Dell and 30" ACD
Ran test on CS5 (PS v12.0.4)

Test with other apps open: 13.0 seconds
Test with fresh reboot: 12.2 seconds

That seems respectable. :)
 
Whoops, forgot I had Geektool running, and there are a ton of shells running with that enabled... so I disabled that and ran again without a fresh reboot, and did even better!

11.7 seconds!

----------
pookeyhead said:
It's a computer, not a car.. who cares about resale value?? I mean, seriously? It's a recoverable tax expense as it's a business asset anyway. Silly boy. As for warranty, each part you buy has it's own warranty anyway. Who the hell BUYS a whole pre-built computer these days except Joe Public and Mac users?

Anyway..

Intel i7 3960X@ 4.7GHz (6 cores, 12 threads)
16GB DDR3 @ 1600

08.4 secs.

Loads of history states and cache levels.. no great attempt made to lean the system down.. just my everyday set up. I was even streaming HD video from iPlayer at the same time.

Come on Mac boys... do your best to keep up with that :)


We need a new test, as times are getting short now... unless you use a mac of course.. muahahaha!


(Disclaimer: Notice to Mac Users - the above post contains humour, or a rough approximation of it. )
Click to expand...
Probably not going to be much chance of catching someone clocking 4.7GHz, but I wasn't too far off!

The day a Mac beats a PC will be about the same time that Macs have 50% or more market share. We have a long way to go, mang.
 
iMac i7 3.4, 16 GB ram.

Photoshop CS5.1

Cache 4
GPU Advanced
History 20

14 seconds only Photoshop running
13 seconds with Photoshop, Safari and System Prefs running.
 
22 seconds!

I couldn't find out how to set the processor speed to maximum. I'm delighted with the result nonetheless. :)

I used a MacPro 3.1
2 x Quads @ 2.8
2GB Ram
Mac HD
CS4
 
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