DivX 8.5.3 with Xmpeg 5.0.3

Our DivX test is the same DivX / XMpeg 5.03 test we've run for the past few years now, the 1080p source file is encoded using the unconstrained DivX profile, quality/performance is set balanced at 5 and enhanced multithreading is enabled:

DivX 6.8.5 w/ Xmpeg 5.0.3 - MPEG-2 to DivX Transcode

And we're done. DivX, historically a stronghold for AMD's Phenom II processors (at least compared to their price-competitive Penryn counterparts) is faster on the Core i5 750 than on the Phenom II X4 965 BE. What's wrong with that?

The i5 750 costs $199, the 965 BE costs $245. Intel is selling you more transistors for less than AMD is for once.

x264 HD Video Encoding Performance

Graysky's x264 HD test uses the publicly available x264 codec (open source alternative to H.264) to encode a 4Mbps 720p MPEG-2 source. The focus here is on quality rather than speed, thus the benchmark uses a 2-pass encode and reports the average frame rate in each pass.

x264 HD Encode Benchmark - 720p MPEG-2 to x264 Transcode

In the first pass AMD is quite competitive, outpacing the i5 750, but when we get to the actual encode:

x264 HD Encode Benchmark - 720p MPEG-2 to x264 Transcode

It's close, but the cheaper i5 750 is faster than the Phenom II X4 965 BE once again; Hyper Threading keeps the i7 920 ahead.

 

Windows Media Encoder 9 x64 Advanced Profile

In order to be codec agnostic we've got a Windows Media Encoder benchmark looking at the same sort of thing we've been doing in the DivX and x264 tests, but using WME instead.

Windows Media Encoder 9 x64 - Advanced Profile Transcode

AMD is about 6% faster than the i5 750 here, it looks like the Phenom II does have some hope left for it. Let's see how the rest unfolds...

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Performance 3D Rendering Performance
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  • goinginstyle - Thursday, September 10, 2009 - link

    What is worthless here is your continued ramblings about subjects you have no actual knowledge of right now. Do you own a P55 system? If so, let's see an article from you. Really, you come over spouting off and calling everyone idiots, yet, you we do not see any articles from you at Toms about the subject matter. In fact, we do not see any comments from you anywhere else about P55. Toms, Tech Report, and AT all came to the same conclusion, presented the same type of information (although AT discussed subjects like PCIE), and yet you do not comment on those other websites.

    Either you are posting here because you think your negative posts will somehow get you attention that your mother never gave you or you are doing to try and look important to the people in charge at Toms. I hope to God that they never allow you to post another piece of garbage on their site. Really, that article was a straight copy and paste from several other articles on the subject along with Wikipedia information. I am surprised you were not sued for plagiarism, maybe you were and that is why you are over here.

    So far, all of your ramblings have only proved your total lack of intelligence when it comes to computer components. Once again, when will we see you making comments on Toms about their similar coverage or when can you expect to see your expert PP article on the site?
  • eternalfantasy - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    Fully agree up to the AMD part. This is the most biased review I've seen published by Anandtech to date. I think a "Buy me now!" link at the end of the article with an Intel sponsored Ad will complete the article perfectly.

    Stock clock speed CPU review is what highstreet mags for average Joes write about. Excluding what's importent for readers of tech sites, such as:

    Clock for clock comparison
    Maximum overclock with similer priced CPU/platform

    is just blatent attempt at glorifying Intel's mainstream platform to look like more then what it really is. A cheaper mainstream alternative to the X58 that has been avaliable over a year ago.
  • PassingBy - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    As released, Core i5 and 1156 Core i7 have no IGP market, so presumably people reading this review will have no interest in using an IGP.

    In any case, we can safely say that your prognostications like 'a brain dead platform for brain dead people' were total bullshit, as many people tried to tell you. Now, many more people can place a Nehalem-based system on their list of possible purchases. Clarkdale will extend Nehalem/Westmere to even lower price points (and yes, then you can start comparing IGPs, if you like).
  • TA152H - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    You're really confused.

    Honestly, anyone who knows anything about computers would be pretty stupid to get this platform. It's fine stock, but when you throw in overclock, the i7 920 is the better choice.

    But, here's your hypocrisy. This article was main for mainstream people, since there's no overclocking comparisons, really. The IGP is what makes AMD work, and they do sell their processors into this market. Anand was commenting on how AMD had to lower their prices, so within this context the entire market is applicable. You didn't understand the context, did you?

    I didn't say the platform was brain-dead, although you seem to be. I said it was brain-damaged. It's a Celeron. If you look at the reviews from better sites, you can see the Bloomfield running at the same speed is faster than the brain-damaged Lynnfield. Anand really tried to obfuscate this, by using bad comparisons or those meant to show the Lynnfield in the best light, instead of just presenting the most useful information. He fooled you, because you're a moron, but not everyone.

    I do like this site, or I did, but I'm really getting unnerved by the way they test to show what they want to show, instead of test and then make up their minds. It's really problematic, and it's going to bite them when more people figure this out.
  • imperialsoren - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    You have a nasty way of conversing.
  • IdolObserver - Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - link

    It's not only his nasty way of conversing. He also doesn't have a clue what he is talking about.
  • Zymon - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    I agree in the main part - there are many aspects which seem to have been completely ignored in this, and many other reviews of Lynnfield.

    It seems strange that you haven't used a level playing field between compared systems: ALL 3 platforms can use DDR3 - you've used X48 for Core 2 chips, but apparently used different RAM than i5. Why on earth have you used an AM2+ board and DDR2 ram for AMD? I guess it's *only* been 9 months since AM3 became available?

    As mentioned, a true clock-for-clock comparison would be VERY interesting, using the same RAM, at the same speeds and timings between platforms.
  • Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    Sorry if this wasn't made clear in the review but the Phenom II X4 965 BE used the same test platform as our review of that CPU: an AM3 motherboard with DDR3 memory.

    I'm out of the office now but I'll update the test tables later this evening to reflect this.

    Take care,
    Anand
  • Zymon - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    Cheers for the clarification Anand!
    - It seemed unusual for one of your articles, hence the comment!
    Laters..
  • snakeoil - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link

    i want to know if those benchmarks were with the turbo enabled, which would be cheating, because that's overclocking.
    for every benchmark turbo must be disabled to be fair.
    readers are not stupid.

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