Xcode Hardware Performance

These are the results from running Xcode on a non-trivial open source project using various Macs. The goal is to give developers a relative idea of how each computer model compares to one another. Read the specifics and contributing sections for more info.

Xcode 9

🖥	Computer Model	CPU	RAM	Fresh Build Time	Incremental Build Time	Xcode Version	Date & Commit Hash	New Build System?
⌨️	Custom PC Early 2018	i7-8700K 4.70+ GHz	32 GB	0:19	0:07		2018-03-11 (commit)	✔️
⌨️	Custom PC Early 2018	i7-7700k 4.5 GHz	16 GB	0:35	0:05		2018-03-10	✔️
⌨️	Custom PC Early 2018	i7-8700K 4.70+ GHz	32 GB	0:36	0:07		2018-02-19 (commit)	❌
⌨️	Custom PC Early 2018	i7-7700k 4.5 GHz	16 GB	0:48	0:07		2018-03-10	❌
⌨️	Custom PC Late 2015	i7-4790k 4.0 GHz	32 GB	0:40	0:07		2018-02-22 (commit)	❌
🖥	iMac Pro 10 Core, Late 2017	3 GHz Intel Xeon W	64 GB	0:41	0:07		2017-12-28	❌
🖥	iMac Pro 18 Core, Late 2017	2.3 GHz Intel Xeon W	128 GB	0:47	0:07		2018-03-07 (commit)	❌
🖥	iMac 27" 5K 1TB SSD, Mid 2017	4,2 GHz i7	40 GB	0:49	0:08		2018-01-18	❌
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", 2017	2.9 GHz i7	16 GB	0:49	0:16		2017-10-09	✔️
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", 2017	2.9 GHz i7	16 GB	0:50	0:15		2017-10-09	❌
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", 2015	2.5 GHz i7	16 GB	0:51	0:09	9.2	2018-03-02 (commit)	✔️
🖥	MacPro Late 2013	2.7 GHz 12core Intel Xeon E5	64 GB	0:54	0:10		2018-03-07 (commit)	❌
🖥	iMac 27" 256GB SSD, Late 2013	3.2 GHz i5	24 GB	0:56	0:10	9.2	2018-03-02 (commit)	✔️
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", Late 2013	2.6 GHz i7	16 GB	1:09	0:12		2018-02-28	✔️
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", 2015	2.8 GHz i7	16 GB	1:17	0:12		2018-01-02	❌
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", 2015	2.5 GHz i7	16 GB	1:20	0:09	9.2	2018-03-02 (commit)	❌
🖥	iMac 27" 256GB SSD, Late 2013	3.2 GHz i5	24 GB	1:27	0:10	9.2	2018-03-02 (commit)	❌
⌨️	Custom Laptop Mid 2018	i5-8250u 3.4 GHz	16 GB	1:58	0:10	9.3	2018-05-11	❌
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 13", 2014	2.6 GHz i5	8 GB	2:30	0:23		2018-01-04	❌
	Mac Mini Mid 2012, 512 SSD	2.3 GHz Quad-Core i7	16 GB	1:32	0:18		2017-10-20	❌
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", 2017	2.8 GHz i7	16 GB	1:50	0:14			❌
🖥	iMac 27" 120GB SSD, Mid 2010	2.93 GHz i7	8 GB	2:05	0:16	9.3	2018-03-21	❌
💻	MacBook Retina, 15", Mid 2012	2.6 GHz i7	8 GB	2:26	0:23			❌
💻	MacBook Pro 13", Mid 2012	2.9 GHz i7	8 GB	2:30	0:23			❌

Xcode 8

🖥	Computer Model	CPU	RAM	Fresh Build Time	Incremental Build Time	Date
🖥	iMac 5K 512GB Flash, 27", Late 2015	4.0 GHz i7	32 GB	0:28	0:06
	Mac Pro Flash Storage, Late 2013	3.5 GHz 6-Core Xeon E5	32 GB	0:30	0:05
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", Mid 2015	2.8 GHz i7	16 GB	0:39	0:07
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", Mid 2015	2.5 GHz i7	16 GB	0:42	0:09
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", Mid 2012	2.3 GHz i7	16 GB	0:46	0:08
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", Early 2013	2.4 GHz i7	8 GB	0:47	0:10
	Mac Mini Mid 2012, 512 SSD	2.3GHz Quad-Core i7	16GB	0:50	0:09
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", Mid 2014	2.2 GHz i7	16 GB	0:51	0:07
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 15", Late 2013	2.3 GHz i7	16 GB	0:53	0:09
🖥	iMac HDD 1 TB, 27", Late 2012	3.4 GHz i7	8 GB	0:54	0:12
💻	MacBook Pro Touch Bar, 15", Late 2016	2.9 GHz i7	16 GB	0:54	0:17
💻	MacBook Pro 15", Early 2011	2.0 GHz i7	8 GB	1:00	0:13
💻	MacBook Pro 15" Early 2011, SSD	2.0 GHz i7	8 GB	1:01	0:10
💻	MacBook Pro Touch Bar, 15", Late 2016	2.9 GHz i7	16 GB	1:04	0:26
💻	MacBook Pro 13", Early 2015, 1TB SSD	3.1 Ghz i7	16 GB	1:25	0:09
💻	MacBook Pro Retina, 13", Early 2015	2.7 GHz i5	8 GB	1:35	0:11
💻	MacBook Retina, 12", Mid 2017	1.4 GHz i7	16 GB	1:49	0:16
💻	MacBook Pro 13", Mid 2012 256 SSD	2.5 GHz i5	8 GB	2:08	0:19
💻	MacBook Air 13", Mid 2012, 512 SSD	2 Ghz i7	8 GB	2:10	0:11
💻	MacBook Retina, 12", Early 2016	1.2 GHz m5	8 GB	2:10	0:12
💻	MacBook Pro 13", Late 2013 256 SSD	2.4 GHz i5	8 GB	2:17	0:23
💻	MacBook Retina, 12", Early 2015	1.2 GHz M	8 GB	2:28	0:12
💻	MacBook Retina, 12", Early 2015	1.1 GHz M	8 GB	3:00	0:12
💻	MacBook Pro 13", Early 2011, 512 SSD	2.7 Ghz i7	8 GB	2:30	0:16
💻	MacBook Air 13", Mid 2013, 128 SSD	1.3 Ghz i5	4 GB	2:58	0:24
💻	MacBook Pro 13", Mid 2010 512 SSD	2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo	8 GB	3:01	0:24
🖥	iMac HDD 500 GB, 21.5", Mid 2010	3.06 GHz i3	12 GB	3:59	0:14
🖥	iMac HDD 1 TB, 21.5", Late 2012	2.7 GHz i5	8 GB	4:15	0:33

Specifications

For the test, I decided to use an app that I actually work on: eidolon. Unlike most iOS apps, the project is stable and not under active development, so it's a prime candidate for accurate-ish benchmarking.

For "fresh" builds, I cleaned the build folder (⌘⇧K) repeatedly until it worked with no permissions problems. Then I sat and waited for Xcode to index the project. I also made sure the simulator was closed, so these times include booting the simulator and launching the app. Then I hit ⌘R and start a timer, only ending it when the app had fully launched.

"Incremental" builds represent a more common use case: changing one file and recompiling with the simulator already running. I added print("hello!") to application(: didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:) and hit ⌘R, timing the time it took for the app to launch.

I repeated each test a few times and took their average times.

Contributing

It would be super-cool if we could perform the above tests on a variety of machines and consolidate the results here. You can follow the instructions to download the code and the project dependencies, and send a pull request adding your own results. I'd super-appreciate it! 🙇

Please note that this project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By participating in this project, you agree to abide by its terms.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.