The Business Winstone 2004 suite from ZD Labs is an update to the application-based PC benchmark line we've been using for years. It still makes use of real-world application tests like word processing, spreadsheets, web browsing and formatting, as well as file compression, anti-virus scanning and email. A multi-tasking component has also been added, and the base requirements have been upgraded quite significantly. As usual, this suite of programs is run from a batch script that attempts to accurately emulate a business system load, and then supplies us with a final performance rating.
The Business Winstone 2004 scores once again favor the AMD side, with the Pentium 4-3.4E unable to match the Athlon 64 3400+ in this segment. In terms of the Pentium 4 competition, it's a virtual dead heat between the 3.4 GHz Prescott and Northwood models, which isn't surprising given that Business Winstone historically rewards overall system performance, memory bandwidth and clock speed, rather than differences in Pentium 4 core architecture. Even the extra 2-MB of L3 cache doesn't kick the Pentium 4 Extreme Editions much higher.
Content Creation Winstone 2004 is another new update to the Winstone line, and also updates the base requirements and applications. We're still looking at an application-based test suite, which includes hot programs like Photoshop, Macromedia Director, LightWave, Wavelab, and many others. This new version also includes Windows Media Encoder 9, which means the AMD and Intel processor features are fully recognized and supported. This is a very demanding system benchmark, and makes a great comparison tool for our high-end testing and when comparing component performance levels using the latest multimedia software.
Content Creation Winstone 2004 is a bit tighter race between AMD and Intel, with the Pentium 4-3.4E falling just short of the Athlon 64 3400+, though it does edge out the Pentium 4-3.4C Northwood.
TMPGEnc Plus is an extremely popular MPEG encoder, and a program that not only offers real-world MPEG performance results, but includes a host of specialized CPU support options. The program supports virtually all CPU multimedia features such as MMX/MMX-2, SSE/SSE2, 3DNow!, and even Hyper-Threading.
For the following test, we've taken a high-end, 3-minute AVI file, and then encoded it to MPEG-2 using TMPGEnc Plus 2.5. The results are expressed in the form of time elapsed (minutes: seconds) and unlike our other benchmarks, a smaller bar denotes less time taken, and therefore higher performance.
Intel continues to hold a noticeable advantage in terms of video encoding, and the Pentium 4-3.4E once again takes the top spot. It is also the only CPU to crack the 4 minute mark, and its enhanced architecture and faster Hyper-Threading performance give the Pentium 4-3.4E a nice advantage in TMPGEnc Plus. Multimedia performance is looking to be one of the main advantages of the Prescott core, as it not only takes it to the 3.4 GHz Northwood, but outpaces the Pentium 4 3.4 GHz Extreme Edition as well.
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