OS X 10.5.3 versus 10.5.2:
Has the GeForce 8800's Core Image Performance Improved?
Originally posted May 30th, 2008, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
I know how frustrated many of you feel who bought the optional Geforce 8800 GS or GT for your Intel Mac only to find it that it ran Core Image intensive Consumer and Pro Apps slower than the "base" Radeon 2600 Pro or XT. Good news: the GeForce drivers have been improved with the release of OS X Leopard 10.5.3.
APPLE iMOVIE '08 IMPORT and RENDER THUMBNAILS
This test involves importing the "WildlifeHD Reel" 720p movie file into iMovie 7. Part of that task involves rendering thumbnails of each segment of the movie file.
LEGEND of GRAPHS
* = Mac OS X 10.5.3 (no star = 10.5.2)
MP R2600 = "early 2008" Mac Pro 3.2GHz with Radeon HD 2600 XT
MP G8800 GT = "early 2008" Mac Pro 3.2GHz with GeForce 8800 GT
iMac G8800 GS = "early 2008" iMac 3.06GHz with GeForce 8800 GS
iMac R2600 = "early 2008" iMac 3.06GHz with Radeon HD 2600 Pro
STONE DESIGN IMAGINATOR 4 CORE IMAGE TEST
Using a custom filter with Core Image effects, we run a 1000 frame animated morph converting the Leopard to a Rose. The Core Image effects are rendered on the fly.
APPLE MOTION 3 RAM PREVIEW
We chose two templates to illustrate the gains of the GeForce GPUs: the 150 frame Tech Blue - Open 2.HD and the 300 frame Fire - Mortise 2.NTSC. The RAM Preview renders the template in memory but hands off the Core Image effects to the GPU.
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS
The good news is that the Core Image performance of the GeForce 8800 GS and GT are significantly improved with the Mac OS X 10.5.3 update. The bad news? In most cases, the performance only improved enough to become roughly equal that of the "base" Radeon HD 2600 Pro or XT.
If you want an optional graphics card that significantly improves the Core Image performance of Apple's consumer and pro apps above that of the "base" Radeon 2600, then you're going to be very interested in the test results for the soon-to-ship Radeon HD 3870 -- which we will be posting in a few days.
WHERE TO BUY A MAC
When ordering products from Apple Store USA, please click THIS TEXT LINK or any Apple display ad as your "portal" to the online store. In so doing, you help to support Bare Feats. (Click on "Displays" in the left column to see optional graphics cards kits for the Mac Pro.)
DON'T LIVE in the USA? See links for Apple online stores in other countries.
Also check with Small Dog Electronics and Power Max. (Power Max takes trade-ins.)
WHERE TO BUY MEMORY FOR YOUR MAC
Apple charges and arm and a leg for CTO memory options. We suggested ordering your Mac with minimal configuration and ordering quality Mac tested memory upgrades from ....
