Mac Intel Quad Core Vs. 2 Dual Core Processors
From its consumer laptops to its high-end workstations, Apple has been transitioning its Macintosh line to a multi-processor and multi-core lineup. As of 2009, when Intel quad core Nehalem processors were phased into the iMac desktop line, Apple boasted a 100 percent performance increase compared to previous dual core processors. Actual performance increases, however, vary by system and task, and the maximum benefit of multi-core systems will only be realized once application developers take advantage of the new technologies.
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History
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Until recently a processor's clock speed, rated in megahertz or gigahertz, was considered to be a chief indicator of a system's overall speed. This rating became less useful when Apple released Mac OS X because the operating system could better handle multiple simultaneous processes. With that advancement, spreading tasks to multiple processors, or cores, greatly increased the system's speed and reliability. By mid-2005, the microprocessor industry was already trending toward slower, multi-core processors residing on the same chip.
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The Facts
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There are a number of differences between a single processor with four cores, and two dual core processors. Each have the same total number of cores, but the significant differences begin to appear in their performance and energy requirements. Improved bus systems, memory schemes and a smaller physical distance between cores allow quad core processors to compute data more quickly than two separate dual core processors in optimized applications. Single quad core processors can also create less heat and require less energy than multiple processors, which should make them more suitable for portable computing.
Significance
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Mac users will notice benefits of quad core processors in two ways: power conservation in portables and increased processing speed in optimized applications. Encoding, rendering and scientific applications show most speed benefit from multi-core processors. For a Mac user to experience the performance gains in both quad core and multiple dual core systems, applications must be written to support them, otherwise they will continue using one processor (or core) and ignore the rest.
Advancements
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With the 2009 release of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple introduced a new set of protocol for developers to take advantage of multiple processors and cores. Grand Central Dispatch acts as a centralized hub to distribute processes to all available cores, theoretically enabling better overall performance. Technologies like these will assist in the transition to and adoption of multi-core systems.
Considerations
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Since Mac OS X 10.6 has been re-engineered to utilize multiple cores, users should notice a speed increase, as well as the quad core's added power management benefit. Many everyday applications, including word processing, email, web browsing, have not been rewritten to fully utilize the presence of multiple processors (dual or quad core). This will result in little to no noticeable speed increase.
References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Rodrigo Senna
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Comments
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On Monday I bought a new Macbook Pro laptop at my local Apple Store. The next morning I received an e-mail from Apple in which they announced the arrival of the quad-core Macbook "now available in Apple stores everywhere" and that it was two to three times faster. I checked the box on my brand new Mac. It's a dual-quad. I feel betrayed. I read a comparative review and it looks like having the quad-core is, in fact, worth whining and making a trip back to the store to pester them for an upgrade exchange.
