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 Extreme shaves about 10-20 seconds off the Gigabyte and single card Abit times, with the Formula about equal to the other boards being compared. However, the Abit is still massively faster than the other boards in this test when using CrossFire but we can't actually attribute a reason why it's so fast. The settings never changed, the results were consistent and the output video file worked just fine.

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.



In both cases the Extreme works great and it's as fast as the Gigabytes and the CrossFired Abit IP35 Pro. However, the Formula is consistently under performing in this test, just like the IP35 Pro does in a single card configuration.

MP3 Decoding

In decoding the story is much the same - the Extreme keeps on par with the best of them but the Formula under performs and is consistently slower.