HD x264 CPU benchmark - compare different CPUs encoding the same file

[SandyB]

here tis at 377...don't think I want to run it any hotter.

Has anyone else tried the CUDA H264 encoder in Mediacoder? I'm getting 48fps with no overclocking


Results for x264.exe v0.58.747
encoded 1442 frames, 65.73 fps, 3904.67 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 67.36 fps, 3904.67 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 67.76 fps, 3904.67 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 67.02 fps, 3904.67 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.02 fps, 3952.97 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.00 fps, 3952.97 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.02 fps, 3952.97 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.01 fps, 3952.97 kb/s

Results for x264.exe v0.59.819M
encoded 1442 frames, 73.30 fps, 3889.36 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 72.95 fps, 3887.50 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 73.36 fps, 3887.95 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 72.73 fps, 3889.36 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 21.37 fps, 3962.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 21.42 fps, 3963.42 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 21.39 fps, 3963.74 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 21.36 fps, 3962.68 kb/s


System Details
--------------
Name Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
Codename Yorkfield
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9550 @ 2.83GHz
Core Stepping E0
Technology 45 nm
Stock frequency 2833 MHz
Core Speed 3204.4 MHz (8.5 x 377.0 MHz)
FID range 6.0x - 8.5x

Northbridge Intel P45 rev. A3
Southbridge Intel 82801JR (ICH10R) rev. 00

CAS# 6.0
RAS# to CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
Cycle Time (tRAS) 18
Command Rate 2T
Memory Frequency 452.4 MHz (5:6)
Memory Type DDR3
Memory Size 3328 MBytes
Channels Dual (Symmetric)

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3, v.3264 (Build 2600)

max VID 1.250 V
Voltage sensor 0 1.18 Volts [0x94] (CPU VCORE)
Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
L2 cache 2 x 6144 KBytes, 24-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, EM64T
Package Socket 775 LGA (platform ID = 4h)

Temperature sensor 0 44°C (111°F) [0x2C] (SYSTIN)
Temperature sensor 1 60°C (139°F) [0x77] (CPUTIN)
Temperature sensor 2 18°C (64°F) [0x1DC] (AUXTIN)
Temperature sensor 0 76°C (168°F) [0x1D] (core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 66°C (150°F) [0x27] (core #1)
Temperature sensor 2 71°C (159°F) [0x22] (core #2)
Temperature sensor 3 72°C (161°F) [0x21] (core #3)
Temperature sensor 0 55°C (130°F) [0x37] (GPU Core)

[ocgw]

btw, my fps was a few frames better in Windows 7 than in XP

ocgw

peace

[DarrellS]

Results for x264.exe v0.58.747
encoded 1442 frames, 72.44 fps, 3905.42 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 72.84 fps, 3905.42 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 73.13 fps, 3905.42 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 73.07 fps, 3905.42 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 20.33 fps, 3952.85 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 20.31 fps, 3952.85 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 20.35 fps, 3952.85 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 20.31 fps, 3952.85 kb/s

Results for x264.exe v0.59.819M
encoded 1442 frames, 78.21 fps, 3889.29 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 78.74 fps, 3887.25 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 79.01 fps, 3888.63 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 78.54 fps, 3891.55 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 22.69 fps, 3962.92 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 22.68 fps, 3963.28 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 22.71 fps, 3962.87 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 22.71 fps, 3963.42 kb/s


System Details
--------------
Name Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Codename Kentsfield
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
Core Stepping G0
Technology 65 nm
Stock frequency 2400 MHz
Core Speed 3600.0 MHz (8.0 x 450.0 MHz)
FID range 6.0x - 9.0x

Northbridge Intel P35/G33/G31 rev. A2
Southbridge Intel 82801IR (ICH9R) rev. 02

CAS# 5.0
RAS# to CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
Cycle Time (tRAS) 15
Command Rate 2T
Memory Frequency 450.0 MHz (1:1)
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 2048 MBytes
Channels Dual (Symmetric)

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)

max VID 1.325 V
Voltage sensor 0 1.44 Volts [0x5A] (CPU VCORE)
Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
L2 cache 2 x 4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
Package Socket 775 LGA (platform ID = 4h)

Temperature sensor 0 40°C (103°F) [0x28] (CPU)
Temperature sensor 1 59°C (138°F) [0x3B] (System)
Temperature sensor 0 63°C (145°F) [0x25] (core #0)
Temperature sensor 3 66°C (150°F) [0x22] (core #3)
Temperature sensor 2 63°C (145°F) [0x25] (core #2)
Temperature sensor 1 65°C (148°F) [0x23] (core #1)
Temperature sensor 0 49°C (120°F) [0x31] (GPU Core)

[Teutatis]

Results for x264.exe v0.58.747
encoded 1442 frames, 70.51 fps, 3904.62 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 70.94 fps, 3904.62 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 70.40 fps, 3904.62 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 70.61 fps, 3904.62 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 17.65 fps, 3953.18 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 17.64 fps, 3953.18 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 17.62 fps, 3953.18 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 17.59 fps, 3953.18 kb/s

Results for x264.exe v0.59.819M
encoded 1442 frames, 72.90 fps, 3891.55 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 73.07 fps, 3889.39 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 73.19 fps, 3891.55 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 72.61 fps, 3891.55 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 18.94 fps, 3963.43 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 18.94 fps, 3962.73 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 18.91 fps, 3963.43 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 18.87 fps, 3963.43 kb/s


System Details
--------------
Name AMD Phenom
Codename Deneb
Specification AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor
Core Stepping
Technology 45 nm
Core Speed 3200.0 MHz (16.0 x 200.0 MHz)

Northbridge ATI RD790 rev. 00
Southbridge ATI SB700 rev. 00

CAS# 9.0
RAS# to CAS# 9
RAS# Precharge 9
Cycle Time (tRAS) 24
Command Rate 1T
Memory Frequency 666.7 MHz (3:10)
Memory Type DDR3
Memory Size 8190 MBytes
Channels Dual (Unganged)

Windows Version Microsoft Windows Vista (6.0) Ultimate Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 6002)

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
L2 cache 4 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, x86-64
Package Socket AM2+ (940)
Package Type 0x1

Temperature sensor 0 57°C (133°F) [0x1C4] (core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 57°C (133°F) [0x1C4] (core #1)
Temperature sensor 2 57°C (133°F) [0x1C4] (core #2)
Temperature sensor 3 57°C (133°F) [0x1C4] (core #3)
Temperature sensor 0 51°C (123°F) [0x33] (GPU Core)

[ocgw]

I'd like to see what that 955 can do w/ a nice oc, but from the looks of your temps you are probably running stock cooling

ocgw

peace

[Teutatis]

I started out with Scythe Scasm-1000, but my idle temp was 49 degrees. Thinking that the Scythe wasn't doing a good job, I installed the stock heatsink. It was extremely noisy, and idled my CPU at around 51 degrees. I finally wound up installing a Zalman 9900. Now my CPU temperature idles at about 47C, approaching 60 at full load.

It looks like I don't have good enough air flow through my case, as the CPU temperature drops by about 5 degrees when I remove the side cover. I will work on cooling the case next.

[redwudz]

I saw this quote from a 920 Phenom II OC article: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/phenom-ii-x4-920-overclocking.html

However, AMD Overdrive 2.15 does in fact have some problems with the new Phenom II CPUs. For example, this utility couldn't correctly identify processor Vcore and didn’t report the correct core temperatures, just like a bunch of other utilities.

(My underline)

I have been suspicious of the reported CPU temps with programs like HW Monitor. My BIOS reports a much lower temp. When I was having heat problems with this CPU, I saw reported temps of about 65C - 67C, which seem unlikely as the CPU would be starting to shut down at those temps. I checked the physical temps on the CPU heatsink with a infrared thermometer and they were much lower, in the area of 40C - 45C, which I believe are more correct.

I also saw in that article that my NB/HT settings were wrong. I reset them in BIOS and I now have the CPU at 3360Mhz, stable and running at 55C (From HW Monitor) under a full load. A big improvement. Without upping the CPU voltage, that's about as high as I want to go. It's only a HTPC, so no reason for a max OC.

[redwudz]

It looks like I don't have good enough air flow through my case, as the CPU temperature drops by about 5 degrees when I remove the side cover. I will work on cooling the case next.

That can be tricky. I've found that side/rear air intakes actually lower the air velocity within the case and create higher CPU temps. Best, IMO, is to just have a front intake fan blowing in and a rear exhaust blowing out. Cable management helps a lot within a case to create smooth airflow. Keep cables out of the airstream. High velocity airflow from a intake to an exhaust fan system is about the most efficient air cooling, but noise levels are harder to control.

Bigger fans help with cooling and noise, 120mm minimum as they can turn lower RPMs for the same airflow. Since heat naturally rises, a low front intake and a high exhaust fan are a good idea. How your CPU fan is situated also makes a difference. Best is to blow to the back of the case where you have a nearby exhaust fan. It makes a shorter circuit for the heat. If your case has a lot of openings for air intake, you might consider plugging them and only have intake air through the front fan and exhaust air through the back fan. I plugged all the case openings around my optical drives and on the back of the case and dropped case temps several degrees. Your case temps need to be a fair amount lower than your CPU temps if you want to have efficient cooling and heat transfer from the CPU cooler.

You can also judge the efficiency of your CPU cooler by running the system under a full load, then seeing how long it takes for the CPU temps to return to your CPU idle temp when the load is removed. It should be in less than a minute, or really, less than thirty seconds if you have good CPU cooling.

With AMDs, the North Bridge produces a lot of heat. Cooling it with a separate fan helps. Even a tiny 40mm fan. The Video card is also a major heat source. It depends on the card, but adding a PCI slot fan sometimes helps. Hard drives also contribute to case heat. Newer SATA drives run cooler. If your front intake fans blow over the HDDs, that helps a lot. RAM doesn't usually contribute enough heat to worry about.

Just a few ideas.

[DarrellS]

I Was having heat issues under load trying to OC my Q6600 to 3.2Ghz. I have two 80mm fans in the front and one 92mm fan in the rear. I decided to put a 120mm fan in the top for more exhaust and a 120mm fan in the side panel for more intake. I removed the MB to drill the holes and decided to reseat the heatsink and fan (a Coolermaster Hyper212). I also removed the 5 1/4" drive bay covers to allow the 120mm CPU fan to pull air over the three HDDs I have installed there.

Before the case mod, I was running 39*C at idle and 74*C at load with Prime95. My ATI video card was running about 52*C also. After the case mods, I was able to get the temps down to 34*C at idle and 58*C under load with Prime95 and a 3.2Ghz clock. I also lowered the board temp to 37*C and video card temp to 45*C by adding the side fan and lowered the HDD temps from around 42*C to around 32*C except for the Maxtor which runs at 38*C (was 48).

I was able to run 3.6Ghz at 36*C at idle and 64*C under load but could not run at 3.8Ghz under load without crashing. Maybe with some tweaking it would've ran but I didn't want to push it any further.

[ocgw]

I hope you aren't applying the thermal paste on too heavy, only a very thin layer is required, just enough to fill in "air gaps, not so thick it is a conducting all the heat, it should be thin enough to have some "metal to metal" contact, but no "air gaps"

I spread mine on w/ a new clean brush, then I throw the brush away

ocgw

peace

[rallynavvie]

Or you can lap down your IHS and HSF to ridiculous levels and not use thermal paste at all. Seriously, you can see a few degrees better cooling performance by lapping the two surfaces. However I do still use Arctic Alumina (the ceramic, non-conductive stuff) just in case. I think thermal paste was a more efficient measure back in the days before IHS.

As for variances in temps you also need to keep in mind that when you're looking at temps in BIOS your system is about as idle as it can get and temps can drop precipitously when they idle. If the hardware monitor states it operates with your chipset (Winbond, etc.) then it should be reporting accurately. I generally use the ones from my board vendor since they are guaranteed to work with my motherboard sensors. I'm glad to be back using TSM, I used it back when I had the 2460 and I forgot how powerful it could be without having such a fluffy UI.

[Teutatis]

I was very careful to use the right amount of AS5 (1.5 grains of rice). I did not spread it around, just put a spot of it in the middle of the CPU, and then mounted the heatsink on top. My BIOS temp reading agrees with CPUID - about 47C at idle.

[ocgw]

I was very careful to use the right amount of AS5 (1.5 grains of rice). I did not spread it around, just put a spot of it in the middle of the CPU, and then mounted the heatsink on top. My BIOS temp reading agrees with CPUID - about 47C at idle.

OK, let's assume your cpu temp is reported correctly, and your cpu is seated properly, what is default cpuv for your cpu and is your mobo providing the correct v

My Phenom II X4 940 default v is 1.433v, I run it @ 1.475v for 3.62Ghz, 1.533v for 3.82Ghz w/ temps simular to what you are reporting @ stock clock

ps. I use the CoolerMaster V8 hsf

ocgw

peace

[johns0]

I was very careful to use the right amount of AS5 (1.5 grains of rice). I did not spread it around, just put a spot of it in the middle of the CPU, and then mounted the heatsink on top. My BIOS temp reading agrees with CPUID - about 47C at idle.

You need a better hsf,since i put on a better hsf my temps have gone from 44c to 36c idle and 60c to 48c full load,in really hot temps at over 30c outside it idles at 41c and full load at 52c.

[Teutatis]

I was very careful to use the right amount of AS5 (1.5 grains of rice). I did not spread it around, just put a spot of it in the middle of the CPU, and then mounted the heatsink on top. My BIOS temp reading agrees with CPUID - about 47C at idle.

OK, let's assume your cpu temp is reported correctly, and your cpu is seated properly, what is default cpuv for your cpu and is your mobo providing the correct v

My Phenom II X4 940 default v is 1.433v, I run it @ 1.475v for 3.62Ghz, 1.533v for 3.82Ghz w/ temps simular to what you are reporting @ stock clock

ps. I use the CoolerMaster V8 hsf

ocgw

peace

I don't know what the default voltage is for this CPU, but it looks like it is currently running at 1.33V. I don't plan on overclocking it, so my temperatures are probably okay for normal use.

[rallynavvie]

I don't plan on overclocking it, so my temperatures are probably okay for normal use.

You are correct. I'm sure you're well within thermal spec for that chip. You need to worry as temps approach 90°C and you're well below that.

[ocgw]

I don't plan on overclocking it, so my temperatures are probably okay for normal use.

You are correct. I'm sure you're well within thermal spec for that chip. You need to worry as temps approach 90°C and you're well below that.

I tend to disagree somewhat on this, while I do agree that his temps are OK for normal use, I also think his temps are little high for a aftermarket hsf, stock clock, and low cpuv

Also in my experience this chip will "BSOD" before it gets to 70c*

ocgw

peace

[beavereater]

x264 HD BENCHMARK 3.0 RESULTS

Please do not compare it with older versions of the benchmark!
Please copy/paste everything below the line to to report your data

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Results for x264.exe r1342
--------------------------
encoded 1442 frames, 60.92 fps, 3901.21 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 62.99 fps, 3901.21 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 62.95 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 63.25 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.43 fps, 3971.80 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.47 fps, 3971.08 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.49 fps, 3971.75 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.42 fps, 3971.68 kb/s


System Details
--------------
Name AMD Phenom II X4 945
Codename Deneb
Specification AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 945 Processor
Core Stepping RB-C2
Technology 45 nm
Manufacturer (ID) Nanya Technology (7F7F7F0B00000000)
Manufacturer (ID) Nanya Technology (7F7F7F0B00000000)
manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
vendor Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Stock frequency 3000 MHz
Core Speed 3013.8 MHz
FID range 5.0x - 15.0x

Northbridge AMD 780G rev. 00
Southbridge ATI SB700 rev. 00

CAS# latency (CL) 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 5
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5
Cycle Time (tRAS) 18
Command Rate (CR) 2T
Memory Frequency 401.8 MHz (1:2)
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Channels Dual, (Unganged)

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
L2 cache 4 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, x86-64
Package Socket AM2+ (940)
Package Type 0x1

Temperature 0 36°C (96°F) [0x24] (TMPIN0)
Temperature 1 95°C (202°F) [0x5F] (TMPIN1)
Temperature 2 63°C (145°F) [0x3F] (TMPIN2)
Temperature 0 52°C (125°F) [0x1A0] (Core #0)
Temperature 1 52°C (125°F) [0x1A0] (Core #1)
Temperature 2 52°C (125°F) [0x1A0] (Core #2)
Temperature 3 52°C (125°F) [0x19F] (Core #3)

[pirej]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Results for x264.exe r1342
--------------------------
encoded 1442 frames, 64.55 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 64.55 fps, 3900.68 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 64.33 fps, 3901.21 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 64.46 fps, 3901.21 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.54 fps, 3971.78 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.56 fps, 3971.71 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.60 fps, 3971.81 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 19.82 fps, 3971.98 kb/s


System Details
--------------
Name AMD Phenom II X4 945
Codename Deneb
Specification AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 945 Processor
Core Stepping RB-C2
Technology 45 nm
manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
vendor Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Stock frequency 3000 MHz
Core Speed 3013.7 MHz
FID range 5.0x - 15.0x

Northbridge AMD 790X rev. 00
Southbridge ATI SB750 rev. 00

CAS# latency (CL) 9.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 9
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 9
Cycle Time (tRAS) 24
Command Rate (CR) 1T
Memory Frequency 669.7 MHz (3:10)
Memory Type DDR3
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Channels Dual, (Unganged)

Windows Version Microsoft Windows 7 (6.1) Ultimate Edition (Build 7600)

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
L2 cache 4 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, x86-64
Package Socket AM2+ (940)
Package Type 0x1

Temperature 0 38°C (100°F) [0x26] (TMPIN0)
Temperature 1 57°C (134°F) [0x39] (TMPIN1)
Temperature 2 49°C (120°F) [0x31] (TMPIN2)
Temperature 0 51°C (123°F) [0x198] (Core #0)
Temperature 1 51°C (123°F) [0x198] (Core #1)
Temperature 2 51°C (123°F) [0x198] (Core #2)
Temperature 3 51°C (123°F) [0x198] (Core #3)