Speed Isn't Everything: P4/2800 Meets Athlon XP 2600+

Video-Encoding MPEG-4: Xmpeg 4.5 Und Divx 5.02 Pro

Memory performance is an important factor for MPEG-4 encoding. In this category, the AMD Athlon XP 2600+, combined with DDR333 (CL 2 - max. timing), is unable to keep up with the Pentium 4/2800. The Athlon 850 simply shows its age with about 16 fps, as does the Athlon 1400 with 26 fps, because it lacks the SSE codes.

Video-Encoding MPEG-2: Pinnacle Studio 7

In encoding an MPEG-2 video with Pinnacle Studio 7, the P4/2800 does the job in 61 seconds, which is about nine seconds faster than the Athlon XP 2600+. When extremely overclocked, the Intel Pentium 4/2800, despite its Rambus speed (PC1200), must admit defeat to the Athlon XP 3400+. The AMD CPU renders the video in 58.8 seconds. The slowest candidate is the AMD Athlon 850, which we've included as a comparison - it is slower than the Athlon XP 3000+ by more than three minutes, which is enough time for you to have a cup of coffee!