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 Play album to a 192kbps variable bit-rate MP3.



Even though we're using the multi-threaded version of LAME, all the Phenoms are slower than their Intel equivalents. The performance increment from 2.2GHz to 2.6GHz is very good for the Phenoms, but even the dual-core Athlon 64 X2s are intermingled amongst them, showing that this test is as dependent on raw MHz as it is on the number of cores.

Windows Media Encoder x64 Edition 9

Website: Microsoft.com

Windows Media Encoder x64 Edition 9 comes as a free extra for 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows. We encoded a 1440x880 Taxi 3 h264 trailer into 1280x720p VBR Windows Media Video file with CBR six channel audio in two passes, measuring the length of time it took for both.


Windows Media Encoder looks also to benefit from quad-cores, however the Phenoms are just behind the equivalent clocked Intel quad-core CPUs. The 2.4GHz Phenom 9700 is just 3.3 percent slower than the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 at 2.4GHz and the 2.6GHz Phenom 9900 is just 5.8 percent slower than a 2.67GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700.