iWork '06 Performance with Pages and Keynote

Now, let's shift our attention to Apple's iWork suite, with Pages 2 and Keynote 3.  For the Pages test, I simply timed how long it would take to export a 116-page document to PDF.  The test was single-threaded, so I'm only showing the Core Duo and G5 performance bars here:

Pages 2.0 - Export to PDF

The performance advantage is pretty decent here, as the Core Duo completes the task in about 30% less time than the G5. 

For Keynote, there are two tests that I ran, both involving exporting a presentation.  The first test exports the presentation to a PowerPoint (.ppt) file, which is a task that is pretty common for Keynote users:

Keynote 3.0 - Export to PowerPoint

The single-threaded test is much faster on the Core Duo, which completes it in a little under 60% of the time of the iMac G5. 

The next test is exporting a smaller presentation to a Quicktime file, using the default export settings.  This test is multithreaded, so we have the Core Solo in there again:

Keynote 3.0 - Export to Quicktime

Interestingly enough, the iMac G5 actually pulls ahead in performance here by two seconds. 

iLife '06 Performance with iPhoto, iDVD and iWeb The Search for Universal Binaries
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  • ohnnyj - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - link

    I have already preorded one (did so on the day they were announced), but now I am having serious doubts about keeping the order (does not ship until the 15th). The only thing that really worries me is if Apple will release new MacBooks when Intel releases the Conroe processor. I would think by that time (fall?) they would have most of the programs ported (i.e. Photoshop) and then an even better processor to run it with. I have been waiting so long for a laptop,...decisions, decisions.
  • Furen - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - link

    I would say you should tough it out for a bit. Like Anand said, this is basically a Public Beta test. Kind of sucks that Apple brought out a 32bit version of the OS considering that it could've been x86-64 native if Apple had waited for a couple of quarters. Then again, it makes no difference if the OS is not 64 bits yet, since a 64 bit version would be able to run 32 bit apps anyway.
  • IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - link

    I wonder if Rosetta itself doesn't take advantage of multi-thread...
  • IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - link

    Wait, doesn't X1600 use H.264 decoding on hardware??
  • smitty3268 - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - link

    It does if the drivers are set up to use it properly. Given that Windows users only got this about a month ago I'd say it probably isn't doing that yet on Macs. Could be, though.

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