Bit-tech and Asus Summer Overclocking Summit

Round 1 - HandBrake H.264 Video Encoding test

The goal of the first benchmarking session was to get the highest score in our HandBrake H.264 video encoding test, so everyone dutifully headed into the EFI systems of their Asus P8P67 motherboards to start tweaking.

Voltages quickly passed 1.5V, and CPU frequencies approached 5GHz within the first few minutes. Team four took an early lead, smashing through the 5GHz barrier very quickly indeed. The guys in this team held onto their lead for quite a while too, as other teams gradually stepped up their efforts and posted higher and higher benchmark scores. Incredibly, near the final whistle, team five managed to leapfrog team four by just five points.

There were some tense moments at the end of each round as each time made last-ditched efforts to post the highest score. Click to enlarge

This wasn't enough to secure first place, though, as the guys in the appropriately-named team one made a last-ditched effort to push their CPU beyond 5.2GHz. Incredibly, the team grabbed the top spot with seconds to go, after underclocking the 100MHz base clock, which enabled them to use a higher multiplier while employing tighter memory timings. Team five's winning score was 4,403 points, although there were only 45 points separating the top four teams.