Which Freeware Media Encoders Allow You To Throttle CPU Usage?

[RKelly]

I have used a variety of encoders and I like XMedia Recode the best. The only issue I have is that when I run the program my CPU usage goes up to 100%. I run liquid cooling on an I7-3770K w/ 16 gig RAM and a PZ77 Board, but I'm concerned I'm going to fry out my system if I run a large batch of video conversions.

I've searched and experimented but haven't been able to throttle down the CPU utilization in XMedia recode. Is there another freeware program comparable to Xmedia that won't max out my system or I can throttle down?

Thanks for any input!

<trapped in a closet>

[davexnet]

You could always throttle the process in Device Manager.

[RKelly]

David,

Thank you for the response. I'm looking further into this and people say there's no benefit to throttling programs, that the CPU is there to be used. So maybe my thinking on this is wrong. Sounds like there's no "wear and tear" gain by trying to slow down a program.

[RKelly]

It also looks like if I encode using Mpeg4/h.264 with a constant bit rate, that is 100% CPU intensive using 3.5 GB RAM to produce the video. Rather than Mpeg4 set at variable bit rate which is using ~40% CPU and 2.33 GB RAM. Hopefully this helps explain a little bit to somebody if they ever stumble across this thread.

[deadmeow]

The CPU is there to be used. Most people encoding want to get 100% usage. If your CPU overheats under 100% load, then something is wrong. I have left my computer/s batch encoding for days at 100% cpu usage and they did not blow up or have any issues, as they shouldn't, unless a part is already defective.

[redwudz]

My main PC always runs at 100% on all six cores when encoding H.264. That's what it is supposed to do. It's overclocked with water cooling, and heat is not a problem.

[davexnet]

When you "throttle" (not really the right term) by lowering the priority
under the the task manager, it doesn't reduce the CPU load.

It does, however, allow other tasks (Microsoft Word, browsing the web, etc, etc)
to remain more responsive, by giving them "priority" when CPU is demanded.

deadmeow's point is spot on.