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
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  • mga318 - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    Well, I just built a new system with an Ryzen 9 7900x that I got on sale for $380 a couple weeks ago and have set at a 105w TDP. Looks like I have no regrets here either in performance or efficiency.
  • Farfolomew - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    The new Pentium 5!
  • Gradius2 - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    So 13900k is better as you can get one for $450
  • charlesg - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    Re all the justified comments about excessive power draw, is this not only when using it at peak capacity?

    If you're using it at peak capacity, all the time, then I agree, you've got the wrong CPU. It's like driving your vehicle at or over 6000rpm all the time.

    For everyone else who's using a compatible MB and prior gen intel cpu, who wants a drop in upgrade, this may be useful?

    (I'm using an amd 5950x here, with no regrets. When I need the cores (and I do use them), it's there. The rest of the time, it just idles..)
  • rUmX - Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - link

    I have 4 7950x machines where I encode using Handbrake SVT-AV1 almost 24/7. AT shows that the Intel is faster, but @ 2x the power consumption literally, AMD is still better. Besides my ambient rises at least 6-7c with the machines going 100%, I can't imagine how the 13900k/14900k will behave. Insane. Besides having all the machines going 100% with a 5000BTU AC it blows my circuit breaker, so I run the AC power with an extension from another room. I can't imagine how the 13900k/14900k will behave.

    PS: Before anyone says I should have gone for a 64+ core EPYC, it was still cheaper to build these 4 systems over a 64c Eypc, taking into consideration 12CH memory, server board, etc. and these run at least 5.1ghz all core over a Epyc at 3.5~ GHZ
  • flgt - Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - link

    The insane part of what you are doing is encoding in SW. Give up on some quality and run quicksync on an intel processor along with ARC GPU's for AV1.
  • rUmX - Monday, October 23, 2023 - link

    I did mess around with HW AV1 encoding on a Intel ARC A380. Quality was pretty good, but the file sizes are at least double (for GPU) for very very similar or even better quality (for SVT-AV1). I'm not doing live streaming, more like encoding for VOD, in this case filesize and bitrates are important as well as storage use. I'm using SSDs so smaller filesize = better. At that, the smaller the size, the more users I can serve at port speed.
  • meacupla - Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - link

    You can certainly drop it in, but it's not an upgrade going from 13th to 14th gen. It's a sidegrade at best. For the price, you would be better off upgrading to watercooling with a 280mm or 360mm radiator.
  • SanX - Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - link

    Ideally comparisons have to include previous gen competition too like AMD 5950x to convince people to upgrade
  • SanX - Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - link

    AMD has to start selling 32-core consumer chips based one their new 16-core chiplets versus older 8-core ones

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