CPU Reviews & Articles

TMPGEnc Xpress 4 MPEG-2 Encoding Performance

Since the release of the Intel Yorkfield, we've totally revamped our media encoding tests, upgrading to TMPGEnc Xpress 4, and changing our default video files. TMPGEnc Xpress 4 not only provides real-world video encoding performance results, but also includes a host of specialized CPU support options. The program is full multi-threaded and supports virtually all CPU multimedia features such as MMX/MMX-2, SSE/SSE2/SSE3, 3D Now!/Enhanced 3D Now!, along with a Core 2 Duo/Extreme mode.

Due to the increasingly high performance of quad core processors, our reference video is now a higher-end, 8-minute AVI file. In our first test, this file is encoded at 720x480 MPEG-2 DVD quality video using TMPGEnc 4 and the encoding time is recorded. 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 better encoding performance.

Although MPEG2 DVD encoding is not the most difficult test in our suite, the Core 2 Duo E8500 proves itself a very powerful encoder, coming within a hair of matching the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad core processor. Overall, the quad core Phenom and Core 2 models still hold the advantage, but the E8500 proves that a higher clock speed can make up some of the difference. Also, these time gaps may not seem like much, but remember we're only talking about an 8-minute file, and relative positioning is still the most important factor.

TMPGEnc Xpress 4 DivX Encoding Performance

For the next test, we've taken the same video file, and encoded it to DivX (656x336) using TMPGEnc 4. This is about on par with the previous DVD authoring test, but uses a difference codec. The performance results are expressed in the form of time elapsed (minutes: seconds) and as with the MPEG-2 results, a smaller bar denotes less time taken, and therefore higher performance.

The DivX encoding test show a very impressive time for the Core 2 Duo E8500, and the processor is now right in the midst of the quad core range. This is likely due to the enhanced Wolfdale core, and its full 6MB of L2 cache.

TMPGEnc Xpress 4 Windows Media Video Encoding Performance

This time out, we're switching to Windows Media Video (WMV), and encoding the same video file as a 672x352 .wmv file. As with the previous tests, these are time-based and a smaller bar denotes higher performance.

The Windows Media Video encoding test is not as multi-core centric as the others, and it tends to reward both a higher clock speed and additional cores. The encoding time of the Core 2 Duo E8500 confirms this, and while it still can't compete with the 3.0 GHz quad cores, the latest Wolfdale does outperform the rest, along with the entire Phenom line.

TMPGEnc Xpress 4 High-Definition Video Encoding Performance

Our final media-encoding test ups the ante considerably, this time forcing the processors to handle a high-definition video job, taking the end resolution to 1440x1080, with a 25000 Kb/s CBR. This test forces many systems to their literal knees, and is certainly not for the faint of heart.

The high-def video benchmarking really separates the processor classes, and the quad core models show a marked performance advantage. The Core 2 Duo E8500 still posts a respectable encoding time, but it's still behind all of the Core 2 and Phenom quad core processors.