Mac Pro :: What Tests Should I Perform On A New Refurb?
Apr 11, 2010
I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations as to how I should test my Refurb Mac Pro (dual 2.26 Octo, GT120, 6GB Ram) as supplied by the online store. I shall be upgrading the RAM, graphics card and hard drives in the near future, but want to check that the machine works correctly out of the box first.
I'm due to take delivery of a U2711 Dell monitor today or tomorrow, and so will be turning this system on for the first time then. I understand that everything should have been thoroughly checked through by an Apple tech at the factory, but the very fact that a refurb store exists means that the quality tests sometimes fail.
I'll be runnung FCS3 from this machine and need the machine to be reliable for paid work, hence the post. I have done a quick search, but only found a thread that was started over 18 months ago, and wondered if you guys had any current advice that could help me. Oh, and I probably should say that I'm new to macs also, so be gentle!!!
I was wondering why my Mac Pro under XP Pro is delivering lower scores in the 3DMark tests than PCs with similar specs.
An Intel Core 2 Quad (2.66GHz) with an ATI Radeon HD 3870 x2 and 2GB RAM scores 19137 3DMarks, while my Mac Pro, 2x2-Core Xeon (2.66GHz,) also with a 3870 x2 and 5GB RAM (Windows doesn't use it all - I know) scores a meager 12136 3DMarks (Both 3DMark06.)
I could understand that the Xeons probably aren't as good with games and graphics, but the difference is pretty large.
I get equally poor scores compared to the same computer in the PCMark05 tests. (8299 vs. 5136)
Any guesses to what might be going on?
ALSO: In tests with actual games, my frame rates were lower than comparable systems.
When sites do various benchmark tests, they typically use something like 3DMark, and I think Cinebench CPU, etc.
First, I probably got those benchmark apps wrong...which ones do tech sites typically use?
Also, what exactly do these benchmarks exam.
Say I have a rendering application that is processor heavy...what benchmark should I be looking at?
Say I have another application for modeling, and I know it is graphics intensive. What benchmark should I be looking at?
And, to round things out, if I have an application that I know is memory heavy, what stats should I look at.
The reason I'm asking, is when upgrading my computer (at this point RAM), or considering a new MacPro, I want to know I'm buying for the right reasons.
I don't want to buy a powerful computer to find out that its max potential is not fully realized as it relies on something else. Granted I understand a new comp all around will perform better. However, applications such as Maxwell render does not hold back, it will use every processor available (8-cores would be amazing!), but others don't rely on processor, but memory more so.
Even then, I'm not sure all the time how the application performs. With as many apps as I use for different things (Rhino NURBS modeling [XP], Maxwell Render, VIZ/3DS Max, SketchUp, Adobe CS3, CAD) I can't always tell what part of the comp they use.
Thanks [for those who read everything and understand what I'm asking]
Looks like the 2.26 is doing better after all. Some users have even gotten Cinebench scores for the new 2.26 like: 3142 (single) and 20,138 (multiple) reported here.
CINEBENCH 10 This free benchmark app uses real world code from Cinema 4D to render a sample project. It stresses all available cores. In the case of the Nehalem, hyperthreading fools the app into thinking there are 16 cores on the 8-core models and 8 cores on the 4-core models. The graph below shows the Cinebench rating for "Multi-CPU" render test.
GEEKBENCH 2 It's not only multi-core aware, but it includes some memory tests which explains why the Nehalem based Mac Pros beat the older Penryn based Power Macs with higher core frequencies. The graph below shows the overall 32-bit score.
There is also a 64-bit version of Geekbench. Fewer results exist for it since, for some unexplained reason, consumers will gladly spend thousands for a new Mac but resist purchasing a $20 serial number in support of a starving Mac developer.
I ordered a i7 15" Macbook Pro high resolution anti glare screen over a week ago. I've been reading lots of forums on the subject and have heard about the small print, yellow tint to the bottom half of the screen, the laptop not sleeping etc.
So I contacted the store to find out about the possibility of returning it if I'm not happy. They said I can spend all the time in the store with it but as soon as I leave the store there is a 15% restocking fee. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm expecting it any day now.
Can someone tell me all the tests I can perform in the store before I leave?
So I was curious to see what the difference would be between10.5.1 to 10.5.2 2 gigs of RAM to 6 gigs of RAM
So, when I first got the Mac Pro I ran both Geekbench and Xbench. I haven't tallied the Geekbench results, but the overall scores go like this: 10.5.1 |2 gigs RAM = 7324 | Memory Score = 2486 10.5.2 |6 gigs RAM = 7793 | Memory Score = 2693
I forgot to run Geekbench with 10.5.2 and 2 gigs of RAM.
Attached are the numbers for Xbench. I also graphed them in Numbers. For all those who enjoy this stuff, here you go.
If someone notices something that seems jacked up with these numbers for this system in its various states of configuration, PLEASE let me know!! I'm not savvy with these benchmarking programs. I just thought some folks out there would like to see the info.The chart can't fit in all the chart titles, so you'll have to look at the raw data to interpret what belongs to what.
Feedback always appreciated. I'm off to finish loading some Windows programs and my games, and then move that partition to the 400 gig drive, and then tell VMware where to go git 'er done!
I'm going to go pick up my Mac Pro from the mailbox right now and I have an SSD and a 1TB Caviar Black waiting to be put into the system. How should hard drives be formatted before installing OSX? And do I format them all the same? Right now I'll have
Boot Drive (SSD) Data (1TB) Time Machine (640 that came with Mac Pro)
Also, are there any benchmark tests I should run to see how my system is performing?
I have had FileVault 2 enabled on my MacBook Air (late 2010) and have been running regular disk speed tests using Blackmagic.
This week I bought a new 2GHz Air with 256GB disk and ran Blackmagic, which showed impressive 453/404 MB/s speeds. All well and good. Then I switched on FileVault 2 and decided to repeat the test to see if there was any speed degredation as a result of the encryption. Now I get an error message that the Air's disk is "read only" and Blacmagic cannot run. If I had had problems on the old Air I would have assumed FV2 was the culprit.
Info: MacBook Air 11, iPad 2, iMac i7, Mac OS X (10.7), iPhone 4
I am looking at buying a refurb and I am confused by the description on the apple store page.
The description on the page says:
Quote:
Graphics : NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory Graphics Memory : 512MB GDDR3
this means it is the 512mb graphics option right ? the first part where "they say 9400 with 256 shared" is refering to the secondary 9400 chipset right ?
I hope this isnt a dumb question.... I currently have a 13 macbook 10/2008 and been thinking about getting a 15. At the apple refurb store they have a 15in mbp for $1349 or new 13in $1119. I love how portable my 13in is but i also like the thought and look of the 15in. Ive read things about the 15in being bulky and not as portable as the 13in. I dont feel like there is that big a difference. Which is the better deal?
When both Mac OS X 10.6 and Windows 7 were tested on a MacBook Pro, Apple's new operating system clearly beat Microsoft in terms of speed, a new test has shown.
Both operating systems were tested on a 2008 MacBook Pro machine by CNet, and each was given its own, separate, clean hard drive. The 64-bit version of each OS was included in the test, which measured a variety of speed and performance related tasks. Snow Leopard was given true, full 64-bit support with most of its native applications taking full advantage of modern processors.
Each OS had the same software installed: iTunes 9, QuickTime, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Cinebench R10. In the test, Snow Leopard booted and shut down significantly faster than Windows 7.
"In time-based tests, Snow Leopard consistently outdid Windows 7," the study found. "It took only 36.4 seconds to boot up, while Windows took 42.7 seconds. In a shutdown test, Snow Leopard took only 6.6 seconds, while Windows needed twice the amount of time: 12.6 seconds. Both computers, however, took just about 1 second to return from sleeping. For this reason, I didn't actually test the wake-up time as it was too short in both operating systems to produce meaningful numbers or even allow me to measure the difference."
The Mac software also unsurprisingly ran Apple's own native applications more efficiently. Converting a movie from M4 format to iPod in Quicktime X on Snow Leopard took 444.3 seconds, while Windows 7, with QuickTime 7 (the latest version available) took 723 seconds. Similarly, converting 17 songs in iTunes from MP3 to AAC took 149.9 seconds in Snow Leopard, while Windows 7 required 162 seconds.
The test also found that Mac OS X 10.6 had better battery life on the MacBook Pro than Windows 7. The 2008 model has a removable battery. But author Dong Ngo said he believes Boot Camp drivers were mostly responsible for the Windows 7 battery life, as many PC laptops fared much better than the 77 minutes the Microsoft OS fared.
One area where Windows 7 was able to easily trump Snow Leopard was in graphics performance. The system's 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics card helped the system score much better in the latest version of Windows, earning a 5,777 3D rendering score in Cinebench R10. Snow Leopard scored 5,437.
In testing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Windows 7 again came out on top, with an average 26.3 frames per second performance, compared to 21.2 frames per second within Snow Leopard.
Ngo's conclusion: Unless you are a gamer, get a Mac.
"If you can get by with just software designed by Apple and if money is not a big issue, you will be happy with a Mac," he said. "Examples of these software choices are iTunes, iLife, QuickTime, Safari, iChat, and so on (and you probably won't need much more than those for daily entertainment and communication needs). Finally, if money is not an issue--and it definitely is for most of us--you should get a Mac anyway. It's the only platform, for now, that can run both Windows and OS X."
CBS.com is currently testing HTML5 video playback for streaming episodes of its TV shows, signaling that the major U.S. broadcast network aims to be iPad compatible before Apple's new multimedia device launches.
As discovered by MacRumors, accessing "iPad - test" video links accidentally posted by CBS through the iPad simulator, or when spoofing a browser's "user agent" setting, loads a new page that appears to be set up for HTML5 streaming video. The same links take users to the Adobe Flash page when accessed with a traditional browser.
"This new version of the video does not yet work but appears to be based on HTML5," the report said. "The css files reference HTML5 and have a number of 'webkit' specific calls. Webkit is the browser engine used in the iPad's mobile safari. While the videos don't currently play, the 'fullscreen mode' reportedly already works in the iPad simulator."
That CBS would be eager to find compatibility with the iPad should come as no surprise -- the network was on board with Apple's proposal for a TV subscription deal while other networks were wary. The network has also suggested it will lower prices of some TV shows on iTunes to 99 cents, down from the current standard of $1.99.
In February, it was rumored that Hulu, an online streaming video destination for multiple networks, plans to make its videos available without Flash for the iPad platform. Reports then alleged that the Web site could be prepared by the time the iPad launches April 3, though it was said the service would likely be subscription only.
CBS iPad test page, screenshot credit MacRumors.
In January, Google added support for HTML5 in YouTube, the Web's most popular streaming video destination. Allegedly labeled a "CPU hog" by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Adobe Flash has been a target of Apple, which has not allowed the Web standard on its iPhone OS, including the forthcoming iPad.
For more on Apple and Flash, and why the Web format will likely never be available on the iPhone OS, read AppleInsider's three-part Flash Wars series.
I received my 500GB Seagate Momentus XT yesterday and ran some quick and crude benchmarks that I thought I'd share with you guys in case anyone else was thinking of upgrading. Here are my observations.
With Factory Seagate 7200rpm 500GB Drive: ------------------------------------------- Time to boot measured from hitting the power button to when the finder toolbar appeared at the top averaged approximately 40s to 45s.
Running Photoshop CS5 immedately after reboot took approximately 10s.
The above two tests were repeated about 4 or 5 times and were fairly consistent.
With new Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Drive: -------------------------------------------- Time to boot measured from hitting the power button to when the finder toolbar appeared at the top averaged approximately 30s.
Running Photoshop CS5 immedately after reboot took approximately 3s to 5s.
The above two tests were repeated 4 times (sorry I ran out of time to run more) and as expected the first attempt was a little slower than subsequent tests. The times listed above represent the times I was getting after the first reboot.
All in all i'm happy with the improvement, especially when i consider the fact that I still get my 500GB capacity. I wanted an SSD but couldn't bring myself to fork out the money to get a drive with enough capacity to meet my needs.
If you have any questions or want me to run specific tests let me know. Not sure about running battery life tests since my battery-o-meter is all over the place telling me i have anywhere between 2 hours and 8 hours of battery life depending on what i'm doing at any given moment
For some reason, Apple marketing has left out a very import bit of information regarding the sale of Flash based storage. The specs of our flash storage is and was as important as the RPMs off our mechanical drives. As most of you know, shopping for SSDs is like wading through a sea of speed tests. Yet for some reason, Apple is not forthcoming about the IOPS, Read, and or Write speeds of their flash media. There have been endless reports about Toshiba and Samsung based flash media being shipped with iMacs and MBPs with different speeds. I think the earlier brand being a slow dog most of the time.
I called Apple yesterday and got the, we don't have that information sir. I also send an email to feedback explaining that it's probably a good idea to let professionals who are spending nearly 4000$ USD for a rMBP to know the specs of the storage so we can know if it meets our speed needs. With all that said, I welcome all of you to post speed tests of your rMBP. You can do this with 2 tests that I am aware of. If anyone knows of others, please let me know. Please also post your basic model specs, like rMBP 16GB 768GB?
1. Reboot with no apps open
2. Then run Blackmagic Speed Test or AJA System Test
I'm sure the results will not be the same each time you run the test, but over a few tests, you can come up with an average. You might not be able to run the test directly on your drive since Lion has locked us out of our own hard drives, so you might need to pick a folder in your user folder.
m having trouble deciding between these two models. Might get the 3.33 Ghz 6c Westmere but leaning towards the 8c models. Why is the 2009 Nehalem faster? The guy at the Apple store was suprised by that also. Are there any changes in the 2010 2.4 8c Westmere from the 2009 Nehalem model?I will be using it for intensive music software (Prottools, Digital Performer, East West, Symphobia, Vienna Symp Inst. All web and graphics software (Photoshop, Flash, InDesign, etc and Astronomy programs)
How to identify if it's a refurb or new?i'm going to buy a mb alum 2.4ghz from someone I met and he claims it's new, i just want to be sure if it is.maybe the box? or the warranty says it's a refurb? I don't know please tell me.
I ordered a refurb'd 24" ACD and it arrived today. All I can say is WOW! I have it right next to my 24" Dell 2407WFP-HC. The Dell XPS PC is running an NVIDIA 8600 GT with 4GB on the motherboard. Ok, back to the ACD, the unit is spectacular and looks to be 'brand spanking new'. Side-by-side comparison would be subjective and worthless. My eye favors the ACD. I consider this a bargain at $699, not chump change but it works great with my Rev C MBA. I am using the MBA with an Apple wireless keyboard and a Microsoft 5000 Bluetooth mouse.
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display (1440 x 900 pixel) 4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM 320GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW) NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory $1529
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 17-inch high-resolution LED-backlit antiglare widescreen display 4GB memory 500GB hard drive 8x SuperDrive (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW) ExpressCard/34 slot Built-in 8-hour battery NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB Illuminated keyboard $1799
Which would be the better choice? Is the price difference justifiable?
I am a photographer so I do a lot of tethered shooting through capture one and a lot of photo editing in Photoshop. I have an eizo 24" external display I can hook up to but I feel the 17" with its high resolution and anti glare would be useful for location shoots so my question: Is the higher price and old technology worth it for the bigger antiglare screen and bigger harddrive for what I am using it for?
I'm buying a Mac pro and logic 8 soon and I had some questions:
1) I only need 4 cores at this moment, so should I get a refurbished (2x Dual core) mac pro so for a later upgrade I have the two heatsinks to upgrade one or both CPUs?
2) Would any xeox 771 cpu work on the mac pros, could I pair a 65nm and a 45nm?
3) The difference between the ram speed of the current and older generation of mac pros (DDR2-800 vs DDR2-667) makes any "real" difference in the overall speed?
4) Does the mac pro have any technology of reducing Hard drive noise/vibration? (ie rubber suspension) I'll be using all 4 HDs and low noise is very important.
I've decided to go with an SSD refurb and am torn between the 1.6 and 1.8 SSD model. The 1.8 is an extra $100, but it's $100 which may be over my budget and I'm not sure if I'll really notice a difference. The reason I want the 1.8 is because I'm coming from a 2.0 MB and 1.8 doesn't seem as bad as downgrading to a 1.6.
I need to max out my credit cards before I file for bankruptcy again. No, in all seriousness, I need a new workstation. Which one would you suggest from the pic below, or should I wait till Black Friday? The refurb mac pro come with the standard ram and video card so I'll have to upgrade those on my own. Which would be of better value?
I love my new mac-Mini refurb and new Samsung DVI 21.5 monitor. My MacGeek score went from 341 on my 2001 466 mhz G4 Digital Audio model to 3044 on the new 2010 2.26 base Mac-MiniStartup is unreal fast... Applications move so much faster as it should be! *Hard to believe that this little box is 10 times the CPU speed and 6 times the hard drive @ 25% of the price in 2000.
I'm thinking of buy a refurb 27" i7 but I'm worried about what the deal is with returns. What If I get one that has a huge scratch on the back or something, can I still return it seeing as they do say there might be some cosmetic damage?
Or if the yellow screen issue is still in play, can I return a refurb with no problems?
Also, how do return work? I live nearly 80miles from the nearest Apple store, so would I send it to Apple or would they pick it up?
Third party testing has confirmed that Apple's new 27" iMac can only be used as an external display for devices designed to provide DisplayPort video. It will not work with any equipment that only supports VGA, DVI, or HDMI output.
In a follow-up to its teardown of the 27" iMac last week, iFixit said it revisited the new hardware to see if it could display high-definition video from a non-DisplayPort external source.
The results of the testing indicate that Apple's stated specifications for the iMac were correct; while video input worked as expected with a 13" MacBook Pro equipped with Mini DisplayPort, all attempts to use a physical adapter dongle to supply alternative video signals to the new 27" iMac failed.
"The iMac will not act as a second (or primary) display using the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter that Apple sells," the group's website stated. "We tried it on a PS3 Slim, as well as a MacBook and MacBook Pro. It looks like we'll have to wait for a special adapter from Apple or a third party."
A one way street
According to Apple's stated specifications however, the 27" iMac's video input feature will only ever work with DisplayPort devices, and no physical adapter will change that fact.
Apple has frequently used converter dongles on its notebooks in order to support multiple types of video output signaling via the same port. For example, previous notebook models provided Mini-DVI ports proprietary to Apple which could deliver both VGA and DVI outputs using the appropriate connector. These ports provided multiple signaling types over the same physical pins.
Apple's modern machines similarly all supply a Mini DisplayPort connector (originally designed by Apple but now part of the official DisplayPort specification); using the right connector, users can extract and output any video signal type supported by the computer, including VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
VGA is analog video; DVI and HDMI are both digital, electrically compatible, serial video data formats that only differ in their physical connectors; DisplayPort is an entirely new format that uses a packet signaling format.
The iMac's Mini DisplayPort supports output of all three, but can only input and display DisplayPort video. Unlike moving from DVI to HDMI, converting a DVI signal to DisplayPort requires more than a cheap physical dongle; it would necessitate a relatively expensive converter box to process the signal into a completely new format and possibly also a scaler to match the output device to the 27" iMac's enormous resolution of 2560x1440.
This prevents the new iMac from serving as an HDTV-style output source for older DVI-based computers or HDMI-output devices such as the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Apple TV, or standard DVD and Blu-Ray players. Future devices that support the DisplayPort standard will work, of course.
Why no DVI or HDMI input is supported
The 27" iMac's inability to input DVI video is rooted in the fact that the DisplayPort specification is uniquely designed to work as both an internal (video card to built-in display) and external (PC to monitor) video signaling system.
Non-DisplayPort systems typically use LVDS for internal video cabling and DVI for external video connectors. No Apple computers supply any sort of internal DVI input to support driving their built-in LCD via the DVI port using an external computer.
Apple's existing MacBooks, Mac mini, Mac Pro, and the smaller new 21.5" iMac model do not support video input at all. The company's 24" LED Cinema Display is the only other device that currently supports (and only supports) DisplayPort input. The 30" Cinema Display HD only supports DVI input, but not DisplayPort.
I'm looking at buying either a used iMac G4 15" 700 MHz. It's all I can afford at the moment, so I was wondering if I maxed out the ram and put a good hard drive in if it would work ok with youtube videos and flash games. Does it?
