Xvid Encoding:

We tested video encoding performance using VirtualDub-MPEG version 1.6.15 and a multi-threaded 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.


The Xvid codec isn't a particularly good example of how multi-threaded video encoding can be, but since it's a very popular codec, it's also very relevant. Essentially, dual-cores is enough to keep the Xvid codec humming along nicely and there were no benefits for quad-core processors here. Having said that though, you could realistically game while running an Xvid encode in the background and you're unlikely to suffer any performance deficit during gaming.

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.



Our MP3 encoding tests told a similar story to our Xvid encoding tests - in that dual cores are pretty much all that's required. Of course, that's not to say you couldn't be doing something else that is equally processor intensive while MP3 encoding is using only two out of four cores to complete the task.