From the Lab

Mac benchmarks: Speedmark 6.5

Though there has been no announced release date for OS X 10.7, it has become necessary to update our Speedmark tests. To that end, we’ve been hard at work updating the applications and the tests to come up with Speedmark 6.5.

Aside from the updates to the applications, we’ve made some additions and some subtractions from the test suite. We’ve added a multitasking test, running our updated Photoshop CS5 action script while iTunes 10 converts AAC files to MP3 and the Finder compresses a 2GB folder. Due to strange issues with certain optical drives, and the absence of DVD drives on some Macs, we no longer rip a DVD from the Mac’s optical drive—we now use HandBrake to encode a video file already ripped to the hard drive. We’ve also chosen to leave out our Compressor test; Speedmark 6 was heavy on encoding tests and our iMovie and HandBrake tests seem more in-line with the tasks Macworld readers are likely to perform most often.

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Speedmark 6.5 test results

Here are the results of our Speedmark 6.5 benchmark suite, used by Macworld Lab to gauge a Mac’s overall speed.

More Speedmark 6.5 scores

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HP Photosmart e-All-in-One

Its performance was very good overall. At default settings on plain paper, text pages printed at a middling 5.3 pages per minute on both the Mac and PC. Output looked crisp, and it improved (though pages came out more slowly) at the highest quality setting. Snapshot-size photos printed on the PC at a rate of 1.8 ppm and looked marvelous on either plain or photo paper, albeit slightly darker than the norm. On the Mac, a much larger and more complex image took over 3 minutes to print on photo paper; colors were vivid but reasonably realistic. Scan and copy samples also looked good overall.

For the price ($130 as of September 1, 2010), the Photosmart e-All-in-One's print/scan/copy feature set is a mix of interesting and underwhelming. On the interesting side of the ledger, the 2.36-inch color LCD is flanked by touch- and context-sensitive controls. This TouchSmart frame is fun to work with, though its left- and right-arrow navigation makes scrolling up or down awkward. Press the Apps icon, and you can select from a preloaded set of 16 Web-based applications for printing, say, paper crafts or news feeds or coupons. HP plans to provide additional apps that you can download directly to the printer. This model also works with HP's new ePrint platform, which lets you send a print job via e-mail (if the printer is connected to a wireless network). Wireless and USB are standard, as are media slots for MMC, MS, and SD media.

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G-Technology G-Drive Mobile 500GB

Designed specifically for your MacBook Pro, the triple interface G-Drive Mobile 500GB is a fast, stylish, Mac-friendly hard drive that should appeal to users of all stripes.

G-Technology has built a reputation on high-end (and high-priced) hard drives made for a professional Mac audience. Audio/visual pros have long known and trusted the G-Technology brand. When the company was acquired by Hitachi, there were worries that G-Technology would become less professional in its focus and the quality of the products would suffer.

But if the recent line of G-Drives is any indication, performance hasn’t suffered one bit. Despite the departure from G-Technology’s iconic gunmetal gray enclosures, the G-Drive Mobile is still a fast, high-performance, Mac-friendly drive. In short, it’s everything we’ve come to expect from G-Technology.

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Data Robotics offers new DroboPro FS

Data Robotics, the makers of Drobo, self-managing storage, has announced DroboPro FS. The news storage solution offers eight-bay capacity for 3.5-inch SATA I or SATA II hard drives, with no carriers required and the ability to mix and match capacities, disk brands and speeds.

Building on the success of the award-winning Drobo FS (introduced in April 2010), the DroboPro FS comes with a newly integrated Drobo Sync application, and is tailored to enable small businesses to deploy network storage and offsite backup without complexity insists the company.

Additionally, the DroboPro FS features what Data Robotics calls pay-as-you-grow storage capacity. Small businesses can add new SATA hard drives or by replacing the smallest drive with larger ones as the company grows and becomes more demanding on storage. The DroboPro FS comes with eight drive bays.

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Canon Pixma MG5220

The Pixma MG5220 is outstandingly simple to install, whether by USB or wireless. The Canon installation software even automatically adds the printer on a Mac—a rarity. The 2.4-inch color LCD flips up for easy viewing, the menus are simple to navigate, and the other controls are nicely laid out. Canon also provides a comprehensive software suite that takes advantage of all the unit's capabilities, from scanning to copying to producing outstanding photos.

Most home-oriented MFPs such as the MG5220 lack an automatic document feeder for scanning multipage documents. We miss it on this otherwise capable machine. That minor complaint aside, the MG5220's impressive paper handling includes automatic duplexing (two-sided printing) and two 150-sheet input trays: one undermounted drawer for plain paper, plus a vertical rear feed for thicker media. The scanner cover telescopes to accept thicker material. Memory card slots support CompactFlash, Memory Stick, SD Card, and XD-Picture Card.

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G-Technology G-Drive Mobile USB 500GB

G-Technology has a reputation for producing high-end, fast Mac-centric hard drives. The company also has a reputation for making similarly designed bulky aluminum drives that are about as aesthetically appealing as cinder blocks. With the G-Drive Mobile USB 500GB, G-Technology is changing its reputation by finally combining a consumer-friendly design with high-end performance. The Mobile USB portable drive is blazingly fast for its class, offering users a viable alternative to Iomega’s eGo ( ) and LaCie’s Rikiki ( ).

The G-Drive Mobile USB features a small, white case that can easily fit into your pants or jacket pocket. Its distinctive look is remarkably different than the usual bulky, heavy gunmetal steel drives G-Technology usually produces. Perhaps Hitachi’s purchase of the company has begun to reap rewards for the company. One of our editors even complimented the drive on its new “G” logo emblazoned on the white drive—comparing it to a superhero logo.

The drive is preformatted for the Mac and comes Time Machine ready right out of the box. Simply set the drive as your target for backups and you’re good to go.

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