Benchmark Results: WinRAR 4.11
WinRAR is one of three archival apps normally found in our processor reviews. Historically, it's far better-threaded than WinZip (though a recent update to WinZip 16.5 might change this), but it doesn't always scale as well as 7-Zip. It's a good middle-ground, and it remains a very popular title amongst our readers.
We rarely see WinRAR achieve high processor utilization numbers, likely as a result of a storage bottleneck. But the outcome is similar to Photoshop anyway. The Ivy Bridge-based platform soars into a lead, followed by the Core i7-2820QM, which itself is trailed by the Core i5-460M. Again, AMD's A8 simply cannot keep up.
Both Bridges enjoy relatively low processor utilization numbers. The Core i7-3720QM gets its job done faster with a spike in power consumption, though, while Core i7-2820QM takes a lot longer, but maintains remarkably low power use. The result is roughly a wash in terms of energy efficiency.
Core i5-460M takes longer and uses more power (not a good combination). Although it's the slowest solution of all, at least AMD's A8 maintains steady consumption under 20 W.