21.5″ and 27″ iMac (Late 2012) Geekbench Scores Reveal Similar Performance

Apple’s latest 21.5″ and 27″ iMacs have shipped and many have already arrived in Canada and the US. Primate Labs has released some Geekbench data to help users take a look at the performance results from both computers. The benchmark measures processor and memory performance.

The new 27″ iMacs were first compared to last year’s equivalent models, and showed a 13-19% increase in performance (thanks to the new Ivy Bridge processors) as shown below:

27inch 2012 2011

How did the new 27″ iMacs compare against the new 21.5″ iMacs? The performance differences are minimal. Only the entry level 27″ iMac is noticeably faster (by 13%) compared to the similar entry level 21.5″ iMac. The rest of the 27″ models are only a smidgeon faster than their equivalent smaller 21.5″ iMacs by 3-4%.

27inch 2012 21inch 2012

Should you buy the 21.5″ iMac or 27″ iMac? John Poole, the founder of Primate Labs explains:

Unless you’re looking at the low-end models, processor performance isn’t different enough to recommend one over the other. Which Mac you purchase will come down to personal preferences. Do you want a bigger screen with a more powerful GPU? Or do you want a smaller screen that takes up less space? Either way, regardless of which iMac you choose, you’ll be happy with its performance.

Did you order the new iMac? How are you liking it so far?

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