Apple introduce new MacBook Pros with powerful processors
Posted on: Wednesday 18th of July 2018
On July 12th, with surprisingly little fanfare, Apple updated the high-end models of the MacBook Pro range. Apple have given these machines some muscle with powerful CPUs. The 15″ MacBook Pro offers 6-core Intel Core i7 or Core i9 processors. The 13″ and 15″ now include the 8th generation of Intel processors. Even the base model gives you an amazing amount of CPU power – great for audio, or running CPU-intensive soft synths. The 13″ MacBook Pro gives you Quad-core Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, up to twice as fast as previous generation machines. The 15″ now features a 6‑core Intel Core i9 processor which Apple say makes it up to 70% faster than the previous generation. The 15″ can be configured with upto 32 GB of RAM.
Geekbench 4 is a popular cross-platform CPU and GPU benchmark from Primate Labs. Geekbench 4 scores 
indicate the latest 15-inch models have a 12% to 15% increase in single-core performance, while multi-core performance is up 39% to 46%, compared to the equivalent 2017 models. A new 15-inch MacBook Pro with the best-available 2.9GHz six-core Intel Core i9 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz, has a multi-core score of 22,439, for example, a 44.3% increase versus a 2017 model with a then-best 3.1GHz quad-core Core i7 and Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz.
For the latest 13-inch models, Geekbench scores show a 3 to 11 percent increase in single-core performance, and an impressive 81% to 86% increase in multi-core performance versus equivalent 2017 models. A new 13-inch MacBook Pro with the best-available 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, has a multi-core score of 17,557, for example, an 83.8% increase versus a 2017 model with a then-best 3.5GHz dual-core Core i7 and Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz.
John Poole attributes the increases in performance to additional cores, higher Turbo Boost frequencies, and the switch to DDR4 memory. Primate Labs’ preliminary conclusion about the 2018 MacBook Pro states: “What’s interesting is that the 2018 13-inch models are competitive with the 2017 15-inch models in both single-core and multi-core performance, making the new 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro a smaller and lighter replacement for the 2017 15-inch MacBook Pro … The 2018 MacBook Pro is the most substantial upgrade (at least regarding performance) since the introduction of quad-core processors in the 2011 MacBook Pro.”
In Resolution’s opinion, external GPUs plugged into MacBook Pros will deliver an enormous shift in the way that production professionals think about portables. The switching is nearly seamless, depending on the age/design of the app. eGPUs utilise the power of Thunderbolt 3, and with the increasing integration of video into the workflows of sound professionals, the lure of Apple’s powerful new portable is sure to grow.
www.apple.com/macbook-pro/
