Apple's 15-inch Core i5 MacBook Pro: The One to Get?
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 14, 2010 10:38 PM EST- Posted in
- Mac
- MacBook Pro
- Arrandale
- Core i5
- Laptops
No AES-NI Support in OS X?
One of the features of Arrandale (and all other Westmere derived architectures) is support for AES-NI. The six instructions that fall under the AES-NI umbrella can accelerate encryption and decryption operations.
Microsoft's full disk encryption feature in Windows 7, BitLocker, is AES-NI accelerated. Simply upgrading to a supported Core i5 or i7 processor gives you better disk performance with BitLocker turned on.
While I'm still waiting for Apple to get back to me on a number of questions, I decided to see if FileVault, OS X's encryption system was AES-NI accelerated as well.
I ran XBench's disk tests on an encrypted home directory and then again on a completely unencrypted portion of the drive. If Apple takes advantage of the Core i5's AES-NI I should see a smaller drop in performance on the new MacBook Pro compared to the old one:
| FileVault Disk Performance Comparison | ||||||
| Sequential Read (256KB) | Sequential Write (256KB) | Random Read (4KB) | Random Write (4KB) | |||
| Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro - FV Off | 172.5 MB/s | 127.1 MB/s | 10.9 MB/s | 134.1 MB/s | ||
| Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro - FV On | 79.5 MB/s | 61.9 MB/s | 6.8 MB/s | 67.8 MB/s | ||
| Core i5 MacBook Pro - FV Off | 175.1 MB/s | 160.0 MB/s | 21.5 MB/s | 112.7 MB/s | ||
| Core i5 MacBook Pro - FV On | 80.5 MB/s | 66.6 MB/s | 13.2 MB/s | 61.0 MB/s | ||
And it looks like we have no AES-NI support in FileVault at least. It's not terribly surprising. Apple usually takes a while to implement new features enabled by hardware changes. Remember how long it took Apple to get GPU accelerated video decoding?
These numbers do tell us something else entirely though: the new MacBook Pro appears to offer better SATA performance.
Not too long ago I published a quick look at 6Gbps SATA controller performance and concluded, among other things, that Intel's SATA controllers are quite good. The numbers above support that theory as disk performance has gone up considerably compared to last year's NVIDIA based MacBook Pro. While random write speed dropped a bit, random read and sequential write performance jumped up significantly.
This is quite noticeable with a SSD but less of a problem with a hard drive. Needless to say Apple's return to Intel is a good thing, especially because we didn't have to give up NVIDIA's graphics.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
114 Comments
View All Comments
n0dder - Friday, April 16, 2010 - link
Would you say that the increased working temperatures in the new MacBooks prohibits its use as a real Laptop? I'm currently using a rev 2.1 MacBook (2.16GHz), and spend 3-6 hours with it in my lap every day, and while it gets too hot if I stress it, surfing the web and doing light work is fine - if the new MBP's run hotter than that, I guess that I shouldn't have waited this long, but have gone for the previous model.TIA,
Terry1 - Saturday, April 17, 2010 - link
On page 5 of Anand's review, he notes that OS10 manages the switching between imbedded graphics and the Nvidia board. No user control apparently provided. Question: what happens when you are running bootcamp with Windows 7 as second operating system? Is OS10 lurking in the background to keep this process functioning, or (my concern) does the system just default to the imbedded GPU mode?Terry1 - Saturday, April 17, 2010 - link
RE my prior post it looks like I missed this comment in the review: "Despite using a NVIDIA GPU, there's no support for Optimus under Windows 7 on the new MacBook Pro. The GeForce GT 330M is always in use there regardless of whether you use an Optimus enabled driver or the 196.21 driver that comes with the MacBook Pro." That's the way I would want it given manual control is impossible, but has this been verified by a user/tester?PubicTheHare - Sunday, April 18, 2010 - link
Anand said to wait until the next revision of Arrandale if we want cooler laptops."Next revision of..." meaning these new MBPs are Arrandale?
If they are (I'm assuming Arrandale is 32 nm), then what would the next revision bring to equate to cooler machines?
I'm disappointed in the heat issue. My Santa Rosa MBP (early 2008) runs hot as hell, especially when I watch YouTube but even if I'm not running video or flash. It bugs me.
I won't upgrade until:
1) OS X supports TRIM (so I can throw in a Crucial C300 SSD or higher capacity Intel G2)
2) USB 3.0 or Lightpeak is available on the MBP
3) The laptops run cooler with discrete graphics
I was really hoping to upgrade this time...
BillyboyPC - Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - link
These MacBooks will be perfect with more affordable SSDs and USB 3. Until then, it's still a no-go for me.R0N1 - Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - link
Great article, but at least one aspect not mentioned:All the Arrandale chips mentioned are the standard voltage M version with 35W TDP. True, this TDP also includes integrated GPU, but still: 35W is a lot for a laptop.
The 18W 640UM, 620Um & 540UM are probably "reserved" for new MacBook Air,
But it would surly be beneficial for MBP to use the 25W LV parts (current lineup lists i7 620LM & 640LM) - any chance Apple would consider using them in MBP?
After all, all the Penryn P series CPUs are medium voltage 25W TDP chips, compared to cheaper (per MHz) T series standard voltage 35W ones.
The new Arrandale revision you mentioned - is this really silicon respin supposed to trim excessive power from the standard voltage M chips, just production process improvement or merely chip binning?
Thanks.
jvin85 - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
Anand Lal Shimpi,I didn't see any mention about the memory difference for the Geforce GT 330M. I was wondering what differences the extra 256MB makes.
I'm considering upgrading as I use an early 2008 MBP. Back then going for the better graphics card was always a big debate. I am wondering if it truly makes a difference in these models.
Thanks.
Kathi - Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - link
I am thinking about bying a 13″ because I like the size and it would be perfekt for me. But I prefer the new i5 processor. Do you think there is a chance that there will come a new 13″ with the i5 processor? Soon? I don´t want to wait too long, but it would be stupid if a new version comes out just after I bought one…xxunrealdudexx - Friday, August 20, 2010 - link
Heading off to Uni in the fall but can't decide between 13" or 15". Which should I get? I'm in the BBA program so I don't think ill be needing Photoshop/Final Cut/etc.?? And I would like it to last for the full 4 years at least. Thanks guys!juhku - Friday, September 3, 2010 - link
Great article! Thanks!Any new information about Arrandale update to get the MacBook run cooler? Is it happening and when?