TMPGEnc Xpress 3.0 is the latest revision to this popular MPEG encoder, and a program that not only offers real-world MPEG performance results, but also includes a host of specialized CPU support options. The program supports virtually all CPU multimedia features such as MMX/MMX-2, SSE/SSE2/SSE3, 3DNow!, and even multi-processing and Hyper-Threading.
For the following test, we've taken a high-end, 3-minute AVI file, and then encoded it to MPEG-1 using TMPGEnc. 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.
Media encoding is one area that dual core and HT processors have a real edge, and TMPGEnc Xpress 3.0 is coded to take advantage of the extra CPU performance. MPEG-1 is not as stressful as higher-end encoding, but even so, the cream does rise to the top. The Pentium EE 840 posts the best result, and the Pentium 4 670 is right there beside it. The Pentium D 820 also posts a good score, and pushes ahead of the higher-clocked Pentium 4 660 and 650.
For the next test, we've taken the same high-end, 3-minute AVI file, and encoded it to MPEG-2 using TMPGEnc Express 3.0. This is more stressful on the system than our previous MPEG-1 encoding, and is the standard for DVD authoring. The performance results are expressed in the form of time elapsed (minutes: seconds) and as with the MPEG-1 results, a smaller bar denotes less time taken, and therefore higher performance.
MPEG-2 encoding is where we start separating the men from the boys, and the Pentium EE 840 is in a class all by itself. Both the Pentium 4 670 and Pentium D 820 post almost equivalent scores, and it is interesting to note that a 2.8 GHz dual core model offers the same MPEG-2 encoding speed as a 3.8 GHz HT processor.
We have also added in a few new media encoding tests, starting with XMPEG and its DivX encoding benchmark test. The same 3 minute video file is used, and the time to encode the 5K+ frames is displayed in the chart below. As with the previous encoding tests, these are time-based and a smaller bar denotes higher performance.
XMPEG offers some level of multi-threading support, but the overall results are not as dramatic as in the MPEG-2 testing. The Pentium 4 670, Pentium EE 840 and Pentium 4-3.73 GHz are still at the top of the class, but strangely, the Pentium D 820 falls back in the pack, and can only keep up with the 3.4 GHz Pentium 4 650.
Our last addition measures basic Windows Media Encoder performance using the 3-minute DivX file we produced above, and using the Windows Media Encoder 9 to convert it into .wmv format. WME 9 offers support for multi-threading and CPU optimizations, which makes it another great media encoding test for our high-end processors.
Once again, we see the Intel processors well in front of the AMD competitors, and the Pentium EE 840 taking its place at the very top of the list. The 3.8 GHz Pentium 4 670 is next, and in this test, the Pentium D 820 manages to stay competitive with the 3.6 GHz Pentium 4 660.
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