The Die Has Been Cast: Pentium 4/2533 vs. Athlon XP 2100+

MP3 Audio Encoding: Mp3 Maker Platinum

mp3 Maker Platinum was used to convert a 178 MB sound file from a WAV format to a "MPEG-1 Layer 3" format under Windows XP. The chart shows that the Pentium 4/2533 takes the top position. All chips that are not yet available on the market are marked with grey bars.

MPEG-4 Video Encoding: Xmpeg 4.5 And Divx 5.01 Pro

RAM performance is an important factor in MPEG-4 encoding. The Pentium 4/2533 holds the record with 38 fps. By contrast, the Athlon 850 shows its age with approximately 16 fps. All chips that are not yet available on the market are marked with grey bars.

MPEG-2 Video Encoding: Pinnacle Studio 7

The Pentium 4/2533 is definitely faster than its AMD rivals at creating an MPEG-2 video with Pinnacle Studio 7. The slowest candidate is once again the AMD Athlon 850, which we've included in this comparison. All chips that are not yet available on the market are marked with grey bars.