The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X and 3100 CPU Review: A Budget Gaming Bonanza
by Dr. Ian Cutress on May 7, 2020 9:00 AM ESTCPU Performance: Encoding Tests
With the rise of streaming, vlogs, and video content as a whole, encoding and transcoding tests are becoming ever more important. Not only are more home users and gamers needing to convert video files into something more manageable, for streaming or archival purposes, but the servers that manage the output also manage around data and log files with compression and decompression. Our encoding tasks are focused around these important scenarios, with input from the community for the best implementation of real-world testing.
All of our benchmark results can also be found in our benchmark engine, Bench.
Handbrake 1.1.0: Streaming and Archival Video Transcoding
A popular open source tool, Handbrake is the anything-to-anything video conversion software that a number of people use as a reference point. The danger is always on version numbers and optimization, for example the latest versions of the software can take advantage of AVX-512 and OpenCL to accelerate certain types of transcoding and algorithms. The version we use here is a pure CPU play, with common transcoding variations.
We have split Handbrake up into several tests, using a Logitech C920 1080p60 native webcam recording (essentially a streamer recording), and convert them into two types of streaming formats and one for archival. The output settings used are:
- 720p60 at 6000 kbps constant bit rate, fast setting, high profile
- 1080p60 at 3500 kbps constant bit rate, faster setting, main profile
- 1080p60 HEVC at 3500 kbps variable bit rate, fast setting, main profile
7-zip v1805: Popular Open-Source Encoding Engine
Out of our compression/decompression tool tests, 7-zip is the most requested and comes with a built-in benchmark. For our test suite, we’ve pulled the latest version of the software and we run the benchmark from the command line, reporting the compression, decompression, and a combined score.
It is noted in this benchmark that the latest multi-die processors have very bi-modal performance between compression and decompression, performing well in one and badly in the other. There are also discussions around how the Windows Scheduler is implementing every thread. As we get more results, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
WinRAR 5.60b3: Archiving Tool
My compression tool of choice is often WinRAR, having been one of the first tools a number of my generation used over two decades ago. The interface has not changed much, although the integration with Windows right click commands is always a plus. It has no in-built test, so we run a compression over a set directory containing over thirty 60-second video files and 2000 small web-based files at a normal compression rate.
WinRAR is variable threaded but also susceptible to caching, so in our test we run it 10 times and take the average of the last five, leaving the test purely for raw CPU compute performance.
AES Encryption: File Security
A number of platforms, particularly mobile devices, are now offering encryption by default with file systems in order to protect the contents. Windows based devices have these options as well, often applied by BitLocker or third-party software. In our AES encryption test, we used the discontinued TrueCrypt for its built-in benchmark, which tests several encryption algorithms directly in memory.
The data we take for this test is the combined AES encrypt/decrypt performance, measured in gigabytes per second. The software does use AES commands for processors that offer hardware selection, however not AVX-512.
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BenSkywalker - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
You just called them AMD shills. They went into this review to prove how great AMD is, that is not journalism, that is not a review, that is a marketing campaign.Literally zero need to use the CPU bench tool they have, literally every other site I've checked has a useful, much better review, although it doesn't hit the level of marketing you are looking for.
Spunjji - Monday, May 11, 2020 - link
"Openly stating the obvious conclusion that your empirical testing led you to is a marketing caompaign" is exactly the sort of anti-intellectual, brain-dead take I have come to expect from you, Ben.He didn't call them AMD shills - you did, and all for daring to have an opinion.
BenSkywalker - Friday, May 15, 2020 - link
"They try to make a point with their review"That is to the letter the opposite of objectivity, that is precisely what shilling is, and I'm not the one that said it. Is English not your first language? You truly shouldn't being up intellect if you don't comprehend the words being used.
Deicidium369 - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
is it any different that the AMD Fluff like "Which is the best CPU" "Which is the best Workstation CPU" etc ...Spunjji - Monday, May 11, 2020 - link
How was that article "AMD fluff"?Oh, because Intel's offerings got panned. How sad. I guess that means Anandtech has a bias that tracks roughly with which parts are the best at any given time. Its almost like... objectivity 🤔
PeterCollier - Monday, May 11, 2020 - link
I agree. Ian should take some classes from Andrei on chart creation and proper benchmarking.Fataliity - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
The first page talks about,Which should you buy? the 3100/3300 versiohns, or a 2600, or a 1600AF?
And then the benchmarks compare them.
He's comparing what you can buy in the price range, I thought it was easy to understand.
BenSkywalker - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
The world does not revolve around what amdownzjoo.com has as a recommended processor. Even if we were limiting ourselves to that, what about the 3200G? Every other site I found handled their reviews of this product much better.Spunjji - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
What *about* the 3200G? It's an older, slower CPU. If you're going to add a dGPU, it's pointless. If you're not, you're still better off waiting for the 4000 series.The desperate scraping for even a semblance of a point in your posts is positively painful.
BenSkywalker - Friday, May 15, 2020 - link
Wanting to see how a $99 CPU compares to a $99 and a $129 CPU is pointless..... You have a special way of viewing things.