-Steve

No, your eyes are not deceiving you… just remember that it is only one benchmark with one type of application. But, Cinebench is basically Cinema4D’s 3D rendering engine, and is considered to be pretty optimized on the platforms it runs on. So, for real-world type number crunching, I think it is a pretty good indicator. I suppose if we were measuring just video encoding, or something, we might get different results (Intel CPUs seem really good at that).

I’m pretty sure both G5’s are dual CPU (If the 2.5 was a quad, its numbers would have been much higher as Cinebench will use all the CPUs). Also note that the Xeon MP is a dual processor.

The new Intel CPUs are certainly nice… the fact that the MacBook Pro and MacBook can get that close in score, considering their price (and low power usage), is pretty amazing. I’m not sure about a switch from Intel, but at least Apple has all options open. If some other chip comes along with better performance, they could probably use it. But, so far, I think Intel has a pretty good looking road map (and the capability to deliver).

The big point though… is you are right that your Dualie 2.5 is still a very fast machine. It should be able to hold its own even if Apple brings out a new Mac Pro Intel Dual Core system based on the same CPU as the MacBook Pro. This is probably why they have left it till last. The rumor mill is that Apple will probably use the Xeon replacement in the new Pro line and xServes, so that might widen the gap a bit more… but I don’t think the Dual and Quad G5 are going to get left too far behind for some time.

Thanks for the compliments Jaake! The blog has been kind of a fun thing when I get a bit of time. Hoping to keep writing more. Do you have a blog?

Thanks,

-Steve

Are my eyes deceiving me on these Cinebench tests? Are the G5 CPUs you tested Dual or Quad processors? I’m still running a 2.5 Dualie so if these tests are based on Dual CPU’s, I’m a happy camper! Even if they aren’t, I’m still amazed how fast my machine is with 8mb of assistance in RAM.

I’ve heard rumors that Apple is going to dump Intel before long. Is it time for me to get new reading glasses?

BTW … very well done on this marvelous piece. It is among the many such pieces on your blog. A True Geek you are Steve… and I say that with the highest of affection! When it comes to you and Mark, “the Apple [sic] didn’t fall far from the tree!”

Hope all is well …

Best,

–Jaake