Looking at individual tests, some results—specifically ones that taxed either the hard drive or the graphics card—showed smaller performance gains, while other more CPU-intensive tasks saw more substantial improvements, thanks to the Core 2 Duo’s improved processing efficiency. Compressor 2.3, for example, ran 30 percent faster on the new 2.33GHz system than on the older 2.16GHz model. The 2.33GHz MacBook Pro was 40 percent faster than the older 2.16GHz model at MP3-encoding using iTunes. Comparing the 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo to the 2.16GHz Core Duo, Compressor was 25 percent faster on the Core 2 and iTunes was 28 percent faster on the new system.

Macworld: First Look: Benchmarks: MacBook Pro gets its Core 2 Duo boost