Multitasking test and overall score

multitasking with 7-Zip and mplayer

Websites: www.7-zip.org and www.mplayerhq.hu

Multitasking is a phrase that we're all familiar with, because most of us are now used to running multiple applications at the same time. However, to run multiple applications well you need a powerful (ideally multi-core) CPU and plenty of RAM.

Our multitasking test performs a massive file backup (with encryption) using 7-Zip, while simultaneously playing back a HD movie file using mplayer, making it a demanding test for any PC.


The multitasking test stresses a whole system, including the Southbridge, but the Core i7s are miles faster than the AMD 955 BE when all are overclocked. The better memory setup for the 920 when overclocked explain how it scores 1,714 to the 1,690 of the 965 EE despite the 920 being clocked at 4GHz and the 965 EE at 4,15GHz (see page 3 for more on this).

As we used the same memory and memory controller dividers with the 965 EE and 975 EE, the extra frequency of the 975 EE helps it keep its slender lead.

Overall Score

The overall score is an unweighted mean average of the scores of the three individual tests.


As the 975 EE is a bit faster than the 965 EE at stock and overclocked speeds, it's no surprise to see it's overall score is also a touch faster. In fact, the frequency difference between the two EE CPUs is four per cent at stock speeds and the performance difference in the CPC benchmarks is 2.7 per cent. When overclocked, the frequency difference is 2.9 per cent and the performance difference is 2.3 per cent.