Unfortunately, the 17-inch MacBook Pro, as was the case with the 15-inch models, show somewhat poor performance when playing games, a surprising result considering they include an updated graphics card.
As we indicated in our review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro models, those models performed worse in the 3-D gaming tests, in which we used Unreal Tournament 2004. The lower results are independent of the fact that the New range of MacBook Pros are equipped with an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT, which represents an improvement over the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 used in previous models. In tests carried out on other games, such as Doom 3 and Quake 4, the new MacBook Pros showed the same level of improvements that we expected.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro equipped with a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor showed the same kind of performance in our gaming tests as it did a week ago. The older 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro outperformed the newer models in our standard tests (1,024 x 768 pixels and DM Antalus Botmatch test mode with the highest values), although when we tested it at 1,440 x 900 pixels resolution they results were more balanced. In tests with Quake and Doom, however, the new 2.4GHz 17-inch MacBook Pro showed the best results among notebooks, outperforming even the 2.66GHz quad-core Mac Pro in Doom tests. 3 and Quake 4.
As for the rest of the tests, beyond including a larger screen with higher resolution, the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is practically identical to the 15-inch model. Both feature 2.4GHz processors, 2GB of RAM, 256MB of video memory for the nVidia card, and 160GB of hard drive storage capacity. As you’d expect, the performance figures are pretty much the same between the two as well, with the 17-inch model beating the 15-inch 2.4GHz model in just a couple of tests.
The 17-inch setting outperformed the 15-inch model (with a similar setting) in Photoshop tests. The 17-inch model was also a couple of seconds faster in some of the Finder-related tests, such as booting, duplicating files, unzipping files, etc. Overall, this difference in seconds has helped the 17-inch model outperform the 15-inch 2.4 GHz MacBook Pro by about 2 percent. Both models outperform the 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro in one second or more. two in most tests, with the exceptions already noted from Unreal Tournament and the Photoshop test suite.
Our tests to measure battery life have found an improvement in the performance of the new MacBook Pros compared to previous models. A combination of the new chipset together with the LED-based backlighting has allowed the 15-inch model to provide over 17 additional minutes of DVD playback compared to the previous model, while we are still doing battery life tests. 17-inch model.
