Xvid Encoding:

We tested video encoding performance using VirtualDub-MPEG version 1.6.15 and a multithreaded version of the Xvid codec, along with the LAME MT MP3 encoder for encoding audio. We did a two-pass encode of a 15-minute 276MB digital TV recording with a target file size of 100MB.


There's all but a second or two between the DDR3 boards at most, and they both out perform the DDR2-based nForce 680i SLI board by nearly a minute.

MP3 Encoding:

We used LAME MT for our audio encoding test - it's the multi-threaded version of the popular LAME MP3 encoder. We ran tests with both Intel's and Microsoft's compilers - naturally, the Intel compiler resulted in some performance increases on Intel's processors. We converted all 18 tracks from Moby's popular Play album to a 192kbps variable bit-rate MP3.

MP3 Decoding

Gigabyte's X38 performance is about on par with the Asus DDR3-based P5K3 Deluxe board on both accounts, but the DDR2-equipped nForce 680i SLI board pulls out ahead slightly in decoding performance.