Results: Media Encoding
Once we get into the media-oriented apps, any relative weakness the six-core -3930K showed against newer quad-core CPUs should evaporate.
Indeed, the Sandy Bridge-E-based processor is the fastest in our TotalCode Studio benchmark, while the quad-core chips pile up on top of each other. Core i7-4770K is only marginally quicker than -3770K.
The Core i7-4770K comes close to catching the two generation-old Core i7-3930K, but falls just short. AMD’s FX-8350 manages to outperform the Core i7-2700K, approaching the -3770K’s performance level. In sharp contrast, the A10 trails way behind, serving as an example of what you don’t want from a media-oriented machine.
Great single-threaded performance makes it easy for the Haswell architecture to walk away with the win in iTunes. Not surprisingly, Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge trail in second and third position. Sandy Bridge-E, which sacrifices peak Turbo Boost clock rates in favor of a more complex six-core configuration, follows close behind.
Similar to iTunes, LAME is single-threaded, and partial to the processor with the fastest clock rate and highest IPC rate. No surprise—Haswell takes an easy first-place finish, trailed by Ivy Bridge and variations of Sandy Bridge.
