Okay Geek Farm
OS X vs Windows 7 - Benchmark to the death!
Brandon Davenport
The Run-down
Both operating systems were tested on a 2008 MacBook Pro machine by CNet, and each was given its own, separate, clean hard drive. The 64-bit version of each OS was included in the test, which measured a variety of speed and performance related tasks. Snow Leopard was given true, full 64-bit support with most of its native applications taking full advantage of modern processors.
Each OS had the same software installed: iTunes 9, QuickTime, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Cinebench R10.
The Conclusion
Apples software, and OS ran better than 7, but Windows 7 showed its muscle in producing much better frame rates in games and a significant advantage in Cinebench rendering. Battery life was found to be distinctly better under Snow Leopard, but we'd put that down to the underlying hardware being optmized for OS X.
Was this a fair benchmark? Because the test was done on Apple's hardware, isn't OSX optimized for that exact hardware? Windows 7 on the other hand was in a less opportune position, or was it? A Mac after all is just a PC with a pretty shell. The OS is what makes it. Apple's hardware, Apples OS -- Your Thoughts?
