Benchmark Results: Encoding
Apple iTunes proves what we said about clock speed and Intel Turbo Boost: mainly, that all of today’s systems have the same processor performance in programs that use fewer than four cores at high load.
HandBrake, TMPGEnc and MainConcept utilize eight threads, putting the desktop system’s higher non-Turbo speed in the lead. Any LGA 1156-based Core i7 would have reversed the above trend, due to the higher Turbo Boost multipliers in those specific CPUs. We’re looking forward to games, which respond more like iTunes and less like the other encoding applications.
Putting aside the fact that no desktop processor is a direct match for the Core i7-820QM, the great result above is that all three notebooks have the same performance. That sets us up for a perfect notebook-to-notebook graphics comparison, regardless of where the desktop PC stands.