CPU Benchmark Performance: Encoding

One of the interesting elements of modern processors is encoding performance. This covers two main areas: encryption/decryption for secure data transfer and video transcoding from one video format to another.

In the encrypt/decrypt scenario, how data is transferred and by what mechanism is pertinent to on-the-fly encryption of sensitive data - a process by which more modern devices are leaning towards for improving software security.

We've updated our list of encoding benchmarks for our 2024 CPU suite to include some of the most relevant and recent codecs, such as AV1, HEVC, and VP9. Not only this, but we have also included FLAC audio encoding as well as WebP2 image encoding into the mix to show not only how the latest processors perform with these codecs but also to show discrepancies in performance throughout the different segments.

We are using DDR5 memory on the Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K, Core i5-14600K, and Intel's 13th Gen at the relative JEDEC settings. The same methodology is also used for the AMD Ryzen 7000 series and Intel's 12th Gen (Alder Lake) processors. Below are the settings we have used for each platform:

  • DDR5-5600B CL46 - Intel 14th & 13th Gen
  • DDR5-5200 CL44 - Ryzen 7000
  • DDR5-4800 (B) CL40 - Intel 12th Gen

Note: As we are running with a completely refreshed CPU test suite, this means we are currently re-testing other processors for our data sets. These will be added to the below graphs as soon as we have more results, and these will also be added to our Bench database. Thanks for your understanding.

(3-1) WebP2 Image Encode: Quality 75, Compression Effort 7

(3-1b) WebP2 Image Encode: Quality 100, Lossless Compression

(3-2): SVT AV1 Encoding: Bosphorus 1080p, Fastest Preset

(3-2b): SVT AV1 Encoding: Bosphorus 4K, Fastest Preset

(3-3) SVT AV1 Encoding: Bosphorus 1080p, Mid-Speed Preset

(3-3b) SVT AV1 Encoding: Bosphorus 4K, Mid-Speed Preset

(3-4) Dav1d AV1 Benchmark, Summer Nature 4K

(3-5) SVT-HEVC Encoding: Bosphorus 1080p, Higher Quality

(3-5b) SVT-HEVC Encoding: Bosphorus 4K, Higher Quality

(3-6) SVT-VP9 Encoding: Bosphorus 1080p, Quality Optimized

(3-6b) SVT-VP9 Encoding: Bosphorus 4K, Quality Optimized

(3-7) FFmpeg 6.0 Benchmark: libx264 Encode, Live Scenario

(3-7b) FFmpeg 6.0 Benchmark: libx264 Encode, Live Scenario

(3-7c) FFmpeg 6.0 Benchmark: libx265 Encode, Live Scenario

(3-7d) FFmpeg 6.0 Benchmark: libx265 Encode, Live Scenario

(3-8) FLAC Audio Encoding 1.4: WAV to FLAC

(3-9) 7-Zip 22.01 - Compression Rating

(3-9b) 7-Zip 22.01 - Decompression Rating

Moving onto encode and decode performance, there's not much difference between the Core i9-14900K and the Core i9-13900K. What's clear from our testing is that in encoding, Intel has the advantage over AMD with their flagship processors. The Core i7-14700K is also right up there in terms of performance, while the cheaper and less powerful Core i5-14600K trades blows with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900.

CPU Benchmark Performance: Power, Productivity and Web CPU Benchmark Performance: Rendering
Comments Locked

57 Comments

View All Comments

  • colinstu - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    This power consumption / heat output is insane… this is putting their 90nm Netburst Prescott / Pentium D Smithfield days to shame. Remember when Apple left IBM/Motorola alliance? Power architecture power consumption going thru the roof, and intel JUST pivoted back to PIII/Pentium M-based Core arch. No wonder why Apple dumped Intel, they called what they were seeing really early on. Arm for windows/linux desktop needs to get more serious, apple's desktop arm is proving nearly as powerful using a fraction of the power draw. Windows is ready, and can even run non-arm code too.
  • herozeros - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    My AMD AM5 would like a word with you …
  • FLEXOBENDER - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    What point are you trying to make, that you have no clue how thermodynamics work?
    This 14900K manages to pull 430 watt peak. 430. 0.43 kilowatt. one CPU.
    It is still beat by a 80 watt peak 7800x3d. What is your point?
  • boozed - Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - link

    I think the point was that you don't have to abandon x86 for ARM to achieve good efficiency, just Intel.
  • The Von Matrices - Thursday, October 19, 2023 - link

    People remember Netburst CPUs as being absurdly power hungry, but they forget that even the most power-hungry Netburst CPUs still only had a TDP of 130W. Today that would be considered a normal or even a low TDP for a flagship CPU. It's actually understating the TDP if you compare it to a Netburst CPU.
  • GeoffreyA - Friday, October 20, 2023 - link

    And didn't Cedar Mill further drop that to a 65W TDP?
  • GeoffreyA - Friday, October 20, 2023 - link

    Possibly, ISA is just a small piece of the power puzzle, and the rest of the design is what's carrying the weight.

    An interesting article:
    https://chipsandcheese.com/2021/07/13/arm-or-x86-i...
  • Azjaran - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    Did i miss something or are there no temperatures shown? Because 428W shouldn't be on the low side and demands a good Cooling Solution.
  • Gastec - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    Just one question: do these AI "tools" connect to the Internet, after they "measure specific system characteristics, including telemetry from integrated sensors", to send that data to those Intel servers that are in the "cloud"?
  • TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    Of course they do. Even if they say they dont.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now