When reviews of the revised 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display started hitting web over the past several days, most focused on the modest speed gains the new Intel Core chips deliver. This meant that most glossed over the fact that the new MacBook Pro includes a ridiculously fast storage system that few are able to rival.
For those not keeping score, Apple's 2015 MacBook Pro included the usual upgrades such as a new processor, faster memory and a larger battery. New systems are also equipped with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface which translates to four I/O lanes for the speedy Samsung-made flash drive. Its predecessor shipped with PCIe 2.0 x2, or two I/O lanes.
The PCIe 2.0 system wasn't exactly a slouch as it trumped standard SATA III SSDs found in many desktops today. But with twice as many lanes, is it realistic to expect double the performance from the storage system? Apparently the answer is "yes."
Computerworld recently put the Apple's 2015 model to the test. Using OS X storage benchmark BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, Apple's latest clocked write speeds of 1,416.7MB/sec and reads of 1,335.9 MB/sec. That kind of performance is on par with something like OCZ's RevoDrive 350 for desktops or the 3x SSDs in RAID 0 found in MSI's GS70 Stealth Pro notebook.
With such a speedy storage system on board, Apple's latest will likely feel fast for years to come although after a certain storage performance threshold, it's hard to notice any day-to-day improvements unless you're working with professional editing software or the like.
Image via iFixit