System Builder Marathon Q3 2014: Mainstream Enthusiast PC

Results: Media Transcoding

The following audio- and video-oriented transcoding benchmarks are tied to processor performance. There are definitely differences in how they utilize CPUs with multiple cores, though. Our iTunes and LAME tests employ a single thread, giving us a good look at the per-core performance of each CPU. Meanwhile, TotalCode Studio and HandBrake leverage as many cores as they can get.

The first two benchmarks run on a single core at maximum Turbo Boost clock rate, yielding performance that reflects their respective stock and overclocked settings. You can see the clock rate difference between the Core i5 4670K and -4690K, but it's not a substantial one.

HandBrake and TotalCode Studio are highly responsive to a jump up to four cores, and then the addition of Hyper-Threading support. Regardless, there's not much of a difference between these two systems.