Comments on: Macworld Challenges Intel iMac Speed Claims http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/macworld-challenges-intel-imac-speed-claims/ Digital Trends is your home for technology news, CE product reviews, mobile app reviews and daily videos. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:00:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Geoff Duncan http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/macworld-challenges-intel-imac-speed-claims/#comment-52420 Geoff Duncan Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:35:03 +0000 http://www.digitaltrends.com#comment-52420 <p>Well, I have some experience with interpreting Apple's performance numbers, as well as benchmarking processors, compilers, and real-world apps. Historically, Apple's numbers have usually been highly selective rather than false. For instance, if a particular set of Photoshop transforms rips on a G5 compared to an Intel processor, guess what Apple's going to build a performance test around? :-) Intel, AMD, Sun, ARM, and I'm sure others are all guilty of similar rose-colored-glasses performance claims.<br /> <br /> Anyway: marketers love to take advantage of these scenarios. It's trye there are several specific tasks and areas of applications where G4s and G5s vastly outperformed anything in their class, just as there are numerous areas Windows-based PCs routinely wiped the floor with Macs. Heck, there are still areas where old Apple hardware running long-dead Mac OS 9 can run circles around the latest and greatest running Mac OS X. Performance numbers have to be taken with a grain or three of salt.<br /> <br /> Which is why I think the Macworld Labs tests are interesting. They're not nearly comprehensive enough for my liking, but they are decent preliminary real-world scenarios, and the results are pretty consistent. <br /> <br /> (Disclaimer: Although I have nothing to do with the current Macworld operation, I've freelanced for them in the past and I've known the current editorial director for years.)<br /></p> Well, I have some experience with interpreting Apple's performance numbers, as well as benchmarking processors, compilers, and real-world apps. Historically, Apple's numbers have usually been highly selective rather than false. For instance, if a particular set of Photoshop transforms rips on a G5 compared to an Intel processor, guess what Apple's going to build a performance test around? :-) Intel, AMD, Sun, ARM, and I'm sure others are all guilty of similar rose-colored-glasses performance claims.

Anyway: marketers love to take advantage of these scenarios. It's trye there are several specific tasks and areas of applications where G4s and G5s vastly outperformed anything in their class, just as there are numerous areas Windows-based PCs routinely wiped the floor with Macs. Heck, there are still areas where old Apple hardware running long-dead Mac OS 9 can run circles around the latest and greatest running Mac OS X. Performance numbers have to be taken with a grain or three of salt.

Which is why I think the Macworld Labs tests are interesting. They're not nearly comprehensive enough for my liking, but they are decent preliminary real-world scenarios, and the results are pretty consistent.

(Disclaimer: Although I have nothing to do with the current Macworld operation, I've freelanced for them in the past and I've known the current editorial director for years.)

]]> By: Hugh http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/macworld-challenges-intel-imac-speed-claims/#comment-52419 Hugh Tue, 24 Jan 2006 12:37:32 +0000 http://www.digitaltrends.com#comment-52419 Apple has always been notorious for giving false numbers. I remember when their G5 was launches and they said it would eat Intel for lunch, it turned out to be the same speed as Intel, if not slower...<br /> <br /> Now of course according to this article, the Intel processors are twice as fast - now that they work in Apple's favor. Apple has always been notorious for giving false numbers. I remember when their G5 was launches and they said it would eat Intel for lunch, it turned out to be the same speed as Intel, if not slower…

Now of course according to this article, the Intel processors are twice as fast – now that they work in Apple's favor.

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