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Benchmarks suggest Ivy Bridge MacBook Pro, iMac coming soon

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On May 14, 2012, 2:00 PM

Several clues are indicating that Apple’s updated MacBook Pro and iMac could be just around the corner. Perhaps the most compelling hints are a couple of benchmark scores recently uploaded to Geekbench that show two unidentified Apple systems utilizing Intel Ivy Bridge processors.

The first system in question is listed as a “MacBookPro9,1” and is powered by a quad-core Core i7-3820QM operating at 2.70GHz with an overall score of 12252. As Apple Live Blog highlights, this is around 17 percent better than the current-generation 15-inch or 17-inch MacBook Pro.

The second mystery system is an “iMac13,2” that’s packing a quad-core Core i7-3770 clocked at 3.40GHz. This system posted a Geekbench score of 12183 which isn’t that great because the system is limited to only 4GB of memory. If you compare only the CPU scores, you’re left with a processor that’s roughly nine percent faster than an existing iMac with a Core i7-2600 running at the same 3.40GHz.

Furthermore, 9to5Mac has received information from “trusted sources” in the Apple supply chain that claim to have handled prototype components. The publication reports that the new 15-inch MacBook Pro will feature an ultra-thin design, a Retina Display and USB 3.0. There’s also reference to the Nvidia GeForce GT 650M GPU in OS X beta code, but that can’t be “confirmed” yet because Apple is supposedly testing multiple graphics chipsets with the new MacBook Pro.

All of this will be coming this summer, the site says. We could very well get our first glimpse of these new systems at WWDC next month.

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User Comments: 7

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  1. Retina will be a nice feature, but it would be even nicer to have more RAM as well.

  2. You can always buy more RAM. 8GB of RAM is $50 on Newegg for MacBook Pros.

    The high resolution and high quality display with thin aluminum body will be the game changers. Most PC laptops use cheap quality components and for sure none of them will match the new MBP's screen resolution/quality.

  3. That's true. I was thinking of the 8GB cap that's present on the models prior to 2011 (didn't pay attention to that year model, so I didn't know they had removed the cap until 5 seconds ago when I googled it).

  4. That's true. I was thinking of the 8GB cap that's present on the models prior to 2011 (didn't pay attention to that year model, so I didn't know they had removed the cap until 5 seconds ago when I googled it).

    Yeah, I like the MBP and MBA, pretty much only apple PC products I actually like ^^ Friend was going to buy an iMac for his birthday since he does music and graphics (games on consoles) but told him to wait if he wants an iMac since the new ones are coming out ^^

  5. Staff

    MacBook Pros are top notch hardware for sure. Looking forward to what Apple has to show, though I wonder how can you successfully use a high resolution display while keeping websites readable without scaling (which of course degrades image quality of bitmap elements).

  6. How about a MAC book pro with 16+ gb of RAM? I've been able to get a windows laptop with 32gb of ram for years. Someday they will listen to power users.

  7. I'm wondering at the pricing of the MacBook Pros with retina displays. I, personally would be willing to cough up about $150-200 extra over normal laptop pricing to get a better display. If it is more than that, I'll live with a crappy built-in display and a kick-ass external monitor.

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