Today we completed the benchmarking of the last two iMac computers that Apple introduced last month: The 2.66GHz iMac Intel Core i5 and the 2.8GHz iMac Intel Core i7.

With the ability to simultaneously run 4 cores and 8 cores respectively, these machines are quite the powerhouses of processing power.

It’s interesting to note that even with faster starting times than the other iMacs in this series, the RAM Hog II test (which simulates powerhouse usage where 80% of the machine’s resources are busy with other processes) was rendered satisfied after 12GB of memory was installed.

Not to say that 16GB didn’t show significant results in its own right. The After Effects Render Test (which spawns subprocesses for each core processor) showed steady improvement in times as more and more memory was added to the computer.

And speaking of that 16GB upgrade, to put a spotlight on the results, the i5 model was up to 44% faster in that RAM Hog II test with the maximum memory installed.

As always, what level to upgrade your Mac is a personal choice. You can check out all the Late 2009 iMac memory and hard drive upgrade options and decide if you want to go mild or wild.

We’ve received four configurations of the 21.5″ and four configurations of the 27″ machines so far.  The quad core i5 and i7 machines aren’t due out till later this month.  Between the advancements in Snow Leopard and adding additional memory to these computers, they sure can go fast!

In fact – we found up to a 46% performance boost by installing the OWC 16GB Memory Upgrade Kit versus the factory installed 4GB.

We’ve run the machines through a rigorous battery of benchmark tests to test not only the pure processing speed of these machines, but also show what adding OWC memory to the setup can do.  Additionally, the different video card options have also been pitted against each other, so if you haven’t purchased your iMac yet, we now offer a definitive tool for making an informed decision on which graphics card to order.  Both of the Radeon HD options prove to generate twice the gaming frame rates than the Nvidia equipped model.  Not too shabby!

Unlike the prior generation of iMacs, these models have a total of four DDR3 memory slots. You can add an additional 4GB kit and have 8GB total or an 8GB kit and have 12GB total without removing  the standard factory 4GB.

Should you want to max the memory up to 16GB, you will need to take out those original modules. While Apple officially supports up to 16GB in all the new iMac models, they only offer up to 8GB in the 21.5″ model. Not only does OWC offer you the options for up to 16GB total, but even if you just need an additional 4GB, we’ll save you 50% compared to the same installed by Apple.

The results make our company mantra ring true.  ”More Memory = Faster Mac!”

As additional machines are run through the same tests, they will appear on the same page as our overall goal is to have every Snow Leopard compatible machine tested using the same process.

About a year ago, OWC CEO Larry O’Connor revisited a recurring topic in his Tips n’ Deals Newsletter and OWC Chris covered that in a post on how the Rules of Upgrading rarely change.

Both of them explored five different ways you can upgrade your Mac to extend its useful life. Since some time has transpired, some new machines were released by Apple, and Snow Leopard has now become a reality, it’s time we take a fresh look at some “old” rules of upgrading:

#1 – Upgrade Your Memory
I think we’ve lost count of how many times we’ve talked about how upgrading your memory gives you the best performance boost for the investment. Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 is a 64-bit (along with its applications) which allows each application to address more than 4GB of RAM at a time. OSX’s memory management now is a lot more flexible in keeping its cached instructions, lessening the need for a hard drive hit.

The bottom line is simple: Your OS and Applications can certainly run on the minimum memory, but having more memory installed makes for a whole lot more enjoyable and productive experience, all for a low investment. With upgrades ranging from $44.97 for a 2GB module for a MacBook, through 16GB of RAM for an iMac, up to a full 32GB of memory priced at $27.25 per GB to max out your Mac Pro, a memory upgrade is dollar-for-dollar the best investment you can make for your Mac.

You can find memory (and other upgrades) for nearly every Mac produced over the past two decades with our easy online upgrade guide. In addition to the instructions you’ll find in just about any Apple computer manual, we’ve got easy-to-follow free installation videos that further illustrate how easy it is for you to get that memory into your Mac. And if you need further help, it is just a click a way in our online tech center.

#2 – Upgrade Your Storage.
The big news for 2009 was the rapid pace of developments in storage capacity, speed, and overall performance. Now we’re talking up to 2.0TB for 3.5″ drives, up to 1.0TB for 2.5″ drives, and SSDs have truly emerged as a legitimate consideration. Since we promised SSD benchmarks in our last coverage of this upgrade, we’re going to focus on them here. I did a comparison of how SSDs measured up to hard drives and SSDs were the speed, reliability, and quiet running champs. Just how much faster are SSDs? Check it out: more…

As mentioned in one of my blog posts last Friday, we’ve been busy testing the limits of the 2009 Mac mini models.  In late August, Apple released Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 which improves compatibility with the latest Apple memory kits on Mac mini computers.

It did a little more than that though.  It improved compatibility of OWC brand memory as well.  As all of our memory meets or exceeds Apple’s requirements for RAM, it’s no surprise that, yet again, OWC can support memory expansion beyond the maximum installed amount suggested by Apple.

We have fully tested all 2009 release date Mac mini computers with both Leopard and Snow Leopard and found no issues regarding which OS was used for testing a full 8.0GB of RAM installed.  Under both operating systems, the memory was fully utilized and no system detriment in speed was observed.

Keep in mind, this information is for Mac mini model identifier macmini3,1.  Intel Mac mini machines released prior to 2009 (macmini1,1 or macmini2,1) have hardware limitations that only allow those machines to max out RAM at 2.0GB and 3.0GB respectively.

Want to take your mini to the maximum? OWC has the Mac mini upgrades you need to make your machine screaming fast.

I really couldn’t wait on this… this news is just too juicy to bottle up for the whole weekend.

While we’re not completely finished with our compatibility testing, early signs are pointing to 8GB of memory supported in not only the new October 2009 Mac mini models, but prior generation mini models as well.  We believe we found the “secret ingredient” that makes exceeding Apple’s recommended 4GB maximum in these machines possible.

Previous testing revealed prior generations of the Mac mini were able to boot with 8GB of memory, but sadly either did not utilize the extra memory installed or – even worse – made the entire machine slower when accessing more than 4GB of memory at a time.  In Late August, Apple released Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 and this allowed these generations to boot without kernel panic. However, we still found that most systems slowed to a crawl when exceeding 4GB of memory in the system.

So far, here’s what we recently found though: our OWC 8GB Upgrade Kit works in the latest Mac mini 2.26 and 2.53 machines and are consistently and completely utilized by the machines.  We then tested these same modules on the prior generation Mac mini (early 2009)… and found them to work consistently as well! All units tested were running Snow Leopard.

We do have more testing to do using the same memory modules with prior Mac mini generation models running OS X 10.5. We also need to do performance tests to make sure that the additional memory actually gives a solid performance boost when more than 4GB is installed. But at this point, we’re feeling pretty confident that our “secret ingredient”…namely the quality of OWC brand memory… delivers the reliability you desire.

Be sure to check back Monday as we’re hoping to complete our testing at that time and be able to confirm that we will support over 4GB of memory in the Mac mini, or if my excitement got the better of me.

With Apple’s new machine releases, we’re hard at work in the OWC Test Labs seeing just how fast we can make the machines go.

Our first machine that we’re looking at is the October 2009 2.26GHz MacBook.  This machine is pretty tight on the inside – meaning there isn’t much extra unnecessary space inside.  Like the iPod and iPhone, conservation of space seems to be a high-priority of Apple’s design teams.  So even though the machine is lighter and sleeker, it does pose some drawbacks in upgrading.  This Macbook has no problem running either a 5400rpm, 7200rpm or SSD drive for the fastest speeds, however; the physical height of the drive is limited to the 9.5mm form factor.  The 12.5mm drives are too tall to fit in the space provided.

I should reiterate that point.  The drive doesn’t officially fit.  Sure, we were able to cram it in, and screw the cover closed (with a little bowing of the bottom) but we don’t suggest or will support actually running the drive this way.  Too much physical pressure on a drive can certainly contribute to early drive failure – it’s just not worth risking your data or the expense of a warranty compromised drive.

We’re pleased to announce our findings that our OWC brand memory certainly takes the cake in these machines!  While Apple lists 4GB as the maximum amount of installable memory, our 8GB memory kit OWC8566DDR3S8GP is now tested and fully certified for the full 8GB utilization – a real performance benefit for memory intensive application loads. While we were at it, we also tested another brand 8GB memory kit and found it consistently caused kernel panics and non-boot issues. Even though both are the same spec of DDR3 1066MHZ SO-DIMM, sometimes quality does have its result.

Thus, when we talk about how OWC brand memory meets or exceeds all Apple requirements for memory, it’s not just idle chatter or marketing-speak. Our on-premise testing lab enables us to physically confirm this fact for every machine listed in our compatibility charts.  Then, we back our quality assurance with a lifetime warranty.  How can you go wrong?

We’re continuing  our diligent work here at the OWC testing lab benchmarking every machine compatible with Snow Leopard and should be ready to start posting some of the results soon.

In the meantime, however, we found some great nuggets of information that we’d like to share!

For our latest test, we took two machines in which the most memory that can be installed was 2GB, maxed out their memory, and checked the performance gains that installing a faster hard drive can provide.  The results were quite impressive!

The Contenders:

The original 2006 MacBook 13″
1.83GHz Core Duo running OS 10.6.1

The 2004 iMac G5 20″
PowerPC 1.8GHz running 10.5.8

Heres what we found:

• The Photoshop Action Test measures the time (in seconds) it takes to execute a custom action script comprising of 47 commonly-used, memory-intensive processes on a 21 megapixel image using Adobe Photoshop CS4. It is designed to represent an average photo editing session of a graphic artist. No other processes are running in the background besides those that keep the machine itself running. This is pure, linear computing where every available resource is on hand for the one test running.  Lower times are better.
• Our Stress Test is a variation on the Photoshop Action Test where the test is performed while iTunes is playing music with the visualizer running. This test adds one additional program to represent that additional light computing we do on the side in real life. With the Visualizer on, the resource draw on the machine is not limited to processor power and memory but to the video card and memory allocated for video as well. Lower times are better.
• The 16 Program Launch test simply measures the time (in seconds) it takes for 16 common programs* from OS X and iLife to open simultaneously.  Lower times are better.
• The Boot Time Test is exactly what it sounds like – the time it takes to boot the machine.  Again, lower times are better.

Considering the investment that a new Apple computer can cost, it makes sense to get all you can out of the machine you have before taking the plunge.  Installing a Solid State Drive can certainly extend the retirement date of your existing Mac for a fraction of the cost of a new computer.

As mentioned in my post from Friday, we received stock of Hitachi’s new 2.0TB 7200RPM DeskStar 7K2000 Serial ATA Hard Drive. By popular demand, we tested the three drives mentioned in that post internally in a Mac Pro to show just how much of a difference rotational speed can make when not limited to the ever-popular FW800 interface.

We benchmarked all three of these drives using the QuickBench TM 4.0 Extended Test. This test measures the drive’s ability to sustain large amounts of data (measuring between 20MB and 100MB) transferred to and from your computer.  But then measured speeds using two hi-definition tests AJA System Test and BlackMagic Disk Speed Test.

more…

Apple’s latest and greatest operating system Mac OS X Snow Leopard hit the shelves this morning and the optimization on the back end is absolutely incredible.

Now that the official version is in our hot little hands, we’ll be hard at work here at the OWC labs testing and benchmarking all the compatible machines.  As each set of results is finalized, I’ll be posting the findings here first. So make sure you keep an eye on our blog for the very latest information.

As reported by OWC Chris S. on Wednesday, Adobe did drop their support of Adobe Creative Suite CS3 for Snow Leopard.  Photoshop CS3 was a standard in our memory benchmarking suite for the past several years.

One of the tests we’ve run is the OWC Super-Photoshop Test, which was created as an extended test to our 21 Step Photoshop Action Test. The OWC Super-Photoshop Test measures the time (in seconds) it takes to execute a custom action script comprising of 47 commonly-used, memory-intensive processes on a 21 megapixel image using Adobe Photoshop. It is designed to represent an average photo editing session of a graphic artist. No other processes are running in the background besides those that keep the machine itself running. This is pure, linear computing where every available resource is on hand for the one test running.

In transitioning this test from CS3 to CS4 we decided to take one machine and run the same test between CS3 and CS4 on 10.5 Leopard, then test CS4 on Snow Leopard, just to make sure we were comparing Apples to Apples.

We've found gains in speed of over 20% already.

As you can see, with the standard 4GB of memory installed, updating the software on 10.5 optimized the test by 28 seconds!  That’s over a 10% gain in speed just from Adobe themselves.  Not too shabby.

When running the same test after upgrading the machine to Snow Leopard though, the speed kicks up even further and drops another 51 seconds from the runtime.  Simply put, Apple’s optimization with the release of Snow Leopard sped this one process up by over 20%

More tidbits and a lot more data from our findings will be coming out just as quickly as we can get the numbers together.  Stay tuned as it looks like this kitty has claws!

UPDATE:

By popular request, we have updated the chart to include Photoshop CS3 times as run under Snow Leopard.

About a year ago, OWC CEO Larry O’Connor had this to say in his Tips and Deals Newsletter:

“It’s fun to talk about the ‘latest and greatest’ – but certainly not practical to buy that new top of the line each time it comes out. Fortunately, since you’ve got a Mac – it happens to have far more longevity than the average Windows PC out there and with some simple upgrades, it can be made better than new. Even if you’re buying a new Mac, for what can be a very nominal investment, it’s still well worth the while to maximize the Mac or Macs you’re still going to keep running.”

It was a very good point then, and it is still valid today.

He also went into five different ways to upgrade your Mac that can extend its useful life. Like the above paragraph, these five upgrade options remain incredibly valid today. The only difference is that we’re looking at new technology and a new Operating System. So, let’s revisit these concepts and see how they’re relevant today. more…

In our last installment we visited our findings on the MacBook Pro 17″ model. Logically, we’ll visit the next step down in size.

Installment Two – MacBook Pro 15″

First off, the reduction in starting price from $1999 to $1699 is very exciting, especially when for your $300 ‘discount’ you double the starting memory! The MacBook Pro 15″ now ships with a minimum of 4GB RAM which is easily upgradable to 8GB.

The other major change to the system – Apple has added an SD card reader. Arguably the most popular form of data storage on video cameras, digital cameras, mobile phones, PDAs and GPS receivers; the SD card format is here to stay. I for one couldn’t be happier with this switch from the ExpressCard 34, even if many of my colleagues find they will miss the expandability of the ExpressCard/34 slot. I won’t miss it, and look forward to the advancements in SD cards.

Let’s start with what we’re missing out on with ExpressCard/34. There are several options on the market today for expansion cards. For example, adding more ports to your system. Well, with USB or FireWire, if you need more ports, you can always go with a hub to add more ports, keeping in mind that the more you add to a laptop, the more you have to lug around with you or give up the portability. There are also the myriad of memory card readers, but really there are plenty of USB options on the market and if you happen to use the SD card standard in your devices (as I do), you’re all set. There is also the option of adding eSATA ports to the system, but the main reason for having the port is external storage. Laptops are meant to keep their portability and I for one don’t want to lug around a 4 bay or better RAID 5 storage solution and have to find an unused power outlet every time I want to use it.

Ok, I’ll concede that you can’t beat the benefit to ExpressCard/34 wireless cards for those of you who travel a lot and find yourself in places without WiFi access. I for one, don’t travel that often and my routine takes me from one WiFi hotspot to another.

If you really miss it, we do carry a USB ExpressCard/34 adapter for $9.99

So, what is there to gain with SD?  Simple….. Storage. Nice, light, massively portable storage.

At the time of writing this article, SD and SDHC (high-capacity) are readily available on the market with capacities of up to 4GB and 32GB respectively. While not colossal in size, the SD card can hold several documents or presentations which can then be physically removed from the computer for safekeeping and security. The SD card slot is bootable and an SDHC card could certainly store an operating system and several utilities as an emergency boot disk or even relocate your home folder to the SD card to use as a physical key to your computer.

The 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) however introduced the SDXC format introducing 32GB to 2TB of storage in the same form factor. Kevin Schader, director of communications for the SD Association, recently announced that SDXC cards should be hitting the market in 2010 starting with a 64GB capacity.  I for one can’t wait to see the maximums realized on the SDXC form factor where I can carry around several 2TB SDXC cards with a 300MB/s transfer rate in my pocket.

Upgrades, Upgrades Upgrades…

Ok, now that you’ve decided that this is the machine for you, what can you do to make it better?

The most economical upgrade has always been memory – and OWC has always had you covered there. The 15″ MacBook Pro can support up to 8GB of memory. Ordering the 8GB stock from Apple will cost an additional $1,000 – or- you can get this same memory upgrade separately from OWC for considerably less. We’ll even show you how to install it in our Installation Video Series (the video is not complete at the time of this posting but should be available online within 1-2 weeks).

Our benchmarking on these models is nearly complete (we’re still awaiting the 15″ MacBook Pro 2.66GHz model) and you can see for yourself here just how much faster and more efficient these systems run when given enough memory. Once Snow Leopard is released, were predicting these numbers will really take off between the true 64-bit processing and Grand Central Dispatch.

Additional speed can be gained by upgrading the hard drive to either a 7200RPM model or going to speed and security of a Solid State Drive. Again, the installation instructions will be available within the next few weeks in our Installation Video Series.

As far as the optical drive goes, there isn’t an internal option available that is faster or includes Blu-ray (which we’re still waiting on Apple to support natively) than the 8x slot loading SuperDrive already installed. As technologies advance down the line, you can be sure we’ll be on the cutting edge and will be ready with the units themselves and the video instructions to match.

Well, most of the new MacBook Pro laptops have arrived and we’ve been busy in the lab updating compatibility, fully testing each memory module, and benchmarking the memory in the machines.  I must say, these machines are tight!

I’m going to use a series of three blog posts to review each of the different machines with some of our findings…

Installment One – MacBook Pro 17″

The biggest and baddest of the MacBook Pro line, in short, starts with two ups and one down:

UP - both models have a boost to processor speed over prior generation. (2.8 and 3.06GHz vs. 2.66 and 2.93GHz)

UP – both models have a boost to starting hard drive capacity over prior generation. (500GB 5400RPM standard vs. 320GB 5400RPM)

DOWN – the price starts $300 lower than the prior generation!

Any way you add it up – what a deal.

Some very noteworthy non-changes are in order as well:

ExpressCard/34: Mainly the ExpressCard/34 slot is still present on the 17″ MacBook Pro.  It has been removed from all other MacBook Pro machines and replaced with an SD card slot – but we’ll get into that in further installments.  At this time, if you’re looking to upgrade and are among the single-digit percentage of users (according to Apple) that use ExpressCards, then the 17″ model is the machine you’ll need.  There are ExpressCards to add eSATA capability, additional FireWire 800 or 400 ports, or media readers for compact flash, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick pro, xD cards and others.

Graphics and video: The 17-inch high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors is an absolutely brilliant display.  With a 1920 x 1200 native resolution and up to 2560 x 1600 on an external display, screen real-estate doesn’t become an issue.  If you need more than that – you could always add a USB display adapter or two (or three!) for a plethora of monitor configurations.

Upgrades, Upgrades Upgrades…

Ok, now that you’ve decided that this is the machine for you, what can you do to make it better?

The most economical upgrade has always been memory – and OWC has always had you covered there. The 17″ MacBook Pro can support up to 8GB of memory. Ordering the 8GB stock from Apple will cost an additional $1,000 – or- you can get this same memory upgrade separately from OWC for considerably less.  We’ll even show you how to install it in our Installation Video Series (the installation process is exactly the same as the previous generation MacBook Pro 17″ Early 2009 “Unibody”).

Our benchmarking on these models are now complete and you can see for yourself here just how much faster and more efficient these systems run when given enough memory.  Once Snow Leopard is released were predicting these numbers will really take off between the true 64-bit processing and Grand Central Dispatch.

Additional speed can be gained by upgrading the hard drive to either a 7200RPM model or going to speed and security of a Solid State Drive. Again, the installation instructions for either is available our Installation Video Series.

As far as the optical drive goes, there isn’t an internal option available that is faster or includes Blu-ray (which we’re still waiting on Apple to support natively) than the 8x slot loading SuperDrive already installed.  As technologies advance down the line, you can be sure we’ll be on the cutting edge and will be ready with the units themselves and the video instructions to match.

Apple’s latest edition to their lineup, the  MacBook Pro 15″ (Early 2009) ’Unibody’ machines are a welcome addition indeed.  Boasting a definite speed bump to 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz of processor speed and now the ability to use up to 8GB of memory! More information can be found at yesterday’s hungry, hungry MacBook Pro blog post.

As promised in that post, the benchmark results are in!

The testing of additional memory in these systems does show a solid performance boost with the addition of our 4GB memory modules.  To view the tests for yourself see our Upgrading Memory in your MacBook / MacBook Pro 15″ page.

To compare the raw processor speed of the new model versus the previous versions you’ll want to check out the Upgrading Memory and a Hard Drive in your MacBook Pro 15″ page.

In initial testing on the base processor speed of the new 8-Core Mac Pro, we’ve seen a much faster performance, up to 40%.

We used the TotalBenchmark product, developed by Media-Motion.TV. This test uses Adobe After Effects CS4 with multiprocessing enabled in the After Effects Preferences and no other programs running in the background. While the test was designed originally for After Effects 6 and updated for After Effects 7, it still runs under CS3 and CS4.

We also partnered with Bare Feats to push the new Mac Pro machines through speed tests for all five models. Bare Feats contends that six memory sticks are faster than eight in the 8-core Mac Pro, in terms of raw memory throughput as shown by the DigLloydTool memory stress test. The six sticks are 15% faster consistently.

That difference, however, doesn’t show up in the real world unless the application’s demand for memory transfers exceeds the bandwidth available. Rob at Bare Feats finds that “putting memory in the first three slots of each memory bank produces faster memory transfer speeds than filling all four slots on each bank.”

Bottom line: If you want the fastest rendering performance – get the most cores and upgrade memory to the max. As we’ve shown, certain applications, such as After Effects and Compressor, use subprocesses to grab as much as 3GB per core to deliver maximum performance. Take this a step further and you can run more applications and more processes concurrently. So, say goodbye spinning beach ball and hello to the local beach!