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The New MacBook Pro Features 'Fastest SSD Ever' In a Laptop (macrumors.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the new-and-improved dept.

Last week, Apple refreshed the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, bringing newer Intel processors and quieter keyboards. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro also just so happens to feature the fastest SSD ever in a laptop, according to benchmarks from Laptop Mag. Mac Rumors summarizes the findings: The site's tests were performed on the $2,499 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar equipped with a 2.7GHz quad-core 8th-generation Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, Intel Iris Plus 655, and a 512GB SSD. A file copy test of the SSD in the new MacBook Pro, which Apple says supports sequential read speeds of up to 3.2GB/s and sequential write speeds up to 2.2GB/s, led Laptop Mag to declare the SSD in the MacBook Pro "the fastest ever" in a laptop. Higher capacity SSDs may see even faster speeds on disk speeds tests. A BlackMagic Disk Speed test was also conducted, resulting in an average write speed of 2,682 MB/s.

On a Geekbench 4 CPU benchmark, the 13-inch MacBook Pro earned a score of 18,055 on the multi-core test, outperforming 13-inch machines from companies like Dell, HP, Asus, and Microsoft. That score beats out all 2017 MacBook Pro models and is faster than some iMac configurations. 15-inch MacBook Pro models with 6-core 8th-generation Intel chips will show even more impressive speeds. With that said, the 13-inch MacBook Pro didn't quite measure up to other machines when it came to GPU performance. "The 13-inch 2018 MacBook Pro uses Intel's Iris Plus Graphics 655 with 128MB of embedded DRAM and was unable to compete in a Dirt 3 graphics test, getting only 38.8 frames per second," reports Mac Rumors. "All Windows-based machines tested offered much better performance."

6 of 262 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I just brought my Mac in for 'service'. 2 year old machine, my keyboard had the known issues, my USB-C ports were failing, and then it stopped charging altogether. Fortunately the SSD seemed to be the one thing that was still working. The IO board was gone, and they acknowledged that the keyboard and ports needed replacing. Now, cheers to Apple for giving me an entirely new laptop body; but what happens when the same failures happen in two years and I DON'T have Apple Care? Total bullshit.

  2. Re:overpriced by neilo_1701D · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's one hell of a display, though... I'm looking at it now, and it beats the crap out of any other laptop display I've seen.

  3. No it's not by Solandri · · Score: 5, Informative
    Explanation given in TFA (and omitted in summary and other articles crowing over this):

    To be fair, Apple's relatively new APFS file system is designed to speed up file file copies using a technology Apple calls Instant Cloning. But a win is a win.

    Some research turns up that:

    the technology used in the new cloning feature makes it easier to store multiple versions of a file in a minimum of space

    In other words, the files weren't copied. A hard link (similar to a shortcut for you Windows users) was created. The whole story is an error by non-techie journalists who noticed something wildly odd in their test results, and rather than spend 30 seconds researching it online like I did, decided "it must be because it's Apple!" and published it. The reality distortion field is alive and well.

    Apple has been using Sandisk NAND lately as a bid to try to reduce dependence on Samsung. Both Sandisk and Toshiba SSDs (also used frequently by Apple) regularly benchmark slower than Samsung SSDs.

  4. SIZE, not speed is what most of us need in a SSD by slacka · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have an SSD and it boots instantly. Apps and game levels are near instantaneous. Speed isn't my problem. With games taking up 100GB now, even my 500GB SSD is constantly running out of space. When I do upgrade, I'll get a fast replacement, but size, not speed will be my primary requirement,

  5. Re:Having just bought a new MacBoo Pro... by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, Informative

    My work laptop also has SSDs, and it doesn't install Windows 10 into a VM that fast - and it's a Lenovo W530; not exactly a slouch.

    You're on the wrong side of the PCIe attached storage divide. The W530 has a weedy 6Gb/s SATA-III interface (my W510 has weedier SATA-II). The good Samsung drives can manage about 5x SATA-III speed on writes and more on reads.

    Actually looking that up, I notived that the benchmark for the supposed "fastest SSD in a laptop" almost exactly matches the Samsung 970 EVO drive benchmarks.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  6. I don't care... by Kergan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I want magsafe so my toddler won't destroy my mac while crawling around, a few usb ports I can use without a dongle, my F-keys, and a sane keyboard.