Benchmarks equate performance of the Mac Pro to that of the iMac Pro

The first unboxings and tests with the brand new Mac Pro started appearing on the web last week, when some influential users were able to get their hands on workstation. But when compared to other Apple machines, how does the “most powerful Mac so far” fare?

To answer that, luckily some results of benchmarks from Geekbench 5 are available – and they are not surprising. Based on scores single-core available, the new Mac Pro’s 8, 12 and 16-core processors offer performance similar to iMac Pro, launched more than two years ago.

Comparison of the geekbench result

As you can see, the basic Mac Pro (with eight-core Xeon W chip) achieved 1,002 points in the single-core test and about 7,606 in the measurement multi-core; both scores were surpassed by the iMac Pro – also equipped with an eight-core Xeon W chip – which achieved 1,075 points in the single-core test and 8,120 in the multi-core.

Naturally, the better the setting, the greater the firepower of the machine; still, that strength was not enough to put the Mac Pro at the top of the Geekbench list. In this sense, the Mac Pro with a 12-core processor scored 1,090 points in the single-core test and 11,599 in the multi-core; the version with 16 cores reached 1,104 and 14,285 points, respectively.

The comparison between the iMac Pro and the new Mac Pro was made due to the similarity of the processor that equips the two machines – but they are obviously not the same. According to the Tweetbot developer, Paul Haddad, the difference between the two processors is that Apple opted for a cheaper version of the Xeon W (W-3223) on the Mac Pro instead of using the higher performing model (W-3225), as this would affect its final price – which is a little controversial, considering that the entry-level Mac Pro is already expensive.

Mac Pros with 12/16 cores perform reasonably well for this class of CPU; Ryzen chips in the same class are a little faster, but probably not as noticeable. Ryzen chips cost about 1/3 the price, and that part is quite remarkable. The reason the 8-core iMac Pro is faster than the Mac Pro is because Apple chose to put the W-3223 CPU, cheaper, instead of using the W-3225, faster. Of course, if they had done that, it would be difficult to charge the extra $ 1,000 to upgrade to 12 cores.

Nevertheless, it is possible to push the bar a little further and compare the results of the benchmark with other company computers; in this case, the Mac Pro is overshadowed by the latest iMac models in terms of performance in single-core tests (including the entry-level desktop version, with an eight-core processor).

Numbers aside, the fact that it is the Mac Pro was made, as well publicized by Apple and recognized by iFixit, for expansion. Therefore, the upgradability and expandability of the new workstation should not be overlooked – as demonstrated by the YouTuber and technology guru Jonathan Morrison in the following video:

With the Afterburner graphics card (optional), the Mac Pro is able to “relax” in heavy editing work that involved playing nine tracks in 4K (note: in ProRes 4444) simultaneously.

As Morrison pointed out, Afterburner did most of the heavy lifting, without actually requiring much of the Mac Pro’s CPU. Later, he added an MPX module with the Radeon Pro Vega II graphics card. The result? The Mac Pro played 16 clips at full quality – all without looking like a plane taking off from your side.

As debated in a conversation between some tech giants – including Morrison, Mark Gurman gives Bloomberg it’s the YouTuber Marques Brownlee -, it really is necessary to go a little beyond the benchmarks to talk about the potential of the new Mac Pro and understand that it depends on several factors (although there is a lot of money involved in any of these scenarios). Let more tests come!

via MacRumors | image: Tech News Daily