Intel Pentium 4 6xx and 3.73EE: Favoring Features Over Performance
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Derek Wilson on February 21, 2005 6:15 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Multitasking Content Creation
MCC Winstone 2004
Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004 tests the following applications in various usage scenarios:
. Adobe® Photoshop® 7.0.1
. Adobe® Premiere® 6.50
. Macromedia® Director MX 9.0
. Macromedia® Dreamweaver MX 6.1
. Microsoft® Windows MediaTM Encoder 9 Version 9.00.00.2980
. NewTek's LightWave® 3D 7.5b
. SteinbergTM WaveLabTM 4.0f
As you can see above, Lightwave is part of the MCC Winstone 2004 benchmark suite. As an individual application, Lightwave does manage to get a healthy performance benefit with multithreaded rendering enabled, especially when paired with Hyperthreading enabled CPUs like the Pentium 4s here today. All chips were tested with Lightwave set to spawn 4 threads.
ICC SYSMark 2004
The first category that we will deal with is 3D Content Creation. The tests that make up this benchmark are described below:
"The user renders a 3D model to a bitmap using 3ds max 5.1, while preparing web pages in Dreamweaver MX. Then the user renders a 3D animation in a vector graphics format."
Next, we have 2D Content Creation performance:
"The user uses Premiere 6.5 to create a movie from several raw input movie cuts and sound cuts and starts exporting it. While waiting on this operation, the user imports the rendered image into Photoshop 7.01, modifies it and saves the results. Once the movie is assembled, the user edits it and creates special effects using After Effects 5.5."
The Internet Content Creation suite is rounded up with a Web Publishing performance test:
"The user extracts content from an archive using WinZip 8.1. Meanwhile, he uses Flash MX to open the exported 3D vector graphics file. He modifies it by including other pictures and optimizes it for faster animation. The final movie with the special effects is then compressed using Windows Media Encoder 9 series in a format that can be broadcast over broadband Internet. The web site is given the final touches in Dreamweaver MX and the system is scanned by VirusScan 7.0."
Mozilla + Media Encoder
While AMD dominated in WorldBench 5's Mozilla test, encoding a file using Windows Media Encoder in the background not only makes this test more appreciative of the Pentium 4 but also of Hyper Threading.
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KingofL337 - Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - link
Why would anyone buy a P4 for EMT64? When AMD64 isa full implementations of 64 not just a poor incomplete copy?
In Soviet Russia, Computer Reboot You!
Zebo - Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - link
"The original Prescott was a Sunday launch. "Well see what I mean..:)
Hans Maulwurf - Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - link
And remember hyperthreading - it uses only a small area on the die and increases power consumption significantly!Oh, and I would still like to know weather it ws 1T or 2T on the Athlon.
Viditor - Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - link
Reflex - First, you may very well be quite correct!Second, not all parts of the die are equal...for example, the ALU runs at twice the clockspeed of the core. The areas affected by 64bit modes MAY be disproportionally higher than the rest of the CPU (I really don't know, which is why I'm asking for a test...).
Third, the design for 64bit on Intel is quite different that on AMD. AMD designed the chip to be hybrid from the ground up, Intel had to "retrofit" their Netburst architecture to accomodate it...while they both function very similarly, their incorporation into the chip is quite dissimilar (e.g. AMD has no double-pumped ALU)
DerekWilson - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
Intel often does sunday launches --The original Prescott was a Sunday launch.
And there was at least a couple others that I can't recall at the moment.
I've seen other sites say something to the affect of this being a sneaky launch, and I think don't think that is accurate.
I, for one, would prefer Intel not launch parts on a Sunday. But that's how its been and likely how it will be. :-/
Zebo - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
What's up with Intel sneaking around in the dark for..Sunday night launches on a holiday weekend told me all I needed to know about this new chip release.In sure they still sell billions over AMD but the message is clear from enthusiasts prosective. If you want performance, quiet and cool you buy AMD A64's.(ageing I might add)
johnsonx - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
In Soviet Russia, message clears YOU!damn, it's hard to stop....
johnsonx - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
The message is clear: Soviet Russia has failed.Enough already... let's move on to the next catch phrase (if there must be a next one...).
Reflex - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
Vidiator - 64bit uses very little die space, even once activated its not going to consume any really noticable amount of power. On an Athlon64 its estimated to be about 10% of the core. Considering how much larger a P4 core is it would account for even less percentage wise. I am not including cache in that measurement either which as you saw accounts for 50% or better.So technically it may draw a watt or two, but its not going to change the results significantly...
Viditor - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
danidentity - "Power consumption is not going to change depending on whether you're running 64-bit apps or not"Is there a reason you expect this? My own rationale is that Intel (I'm assuming here) probably dials down a few things (ALU logic, BISTs, unneeded repeaters, etc...) unless the CPU is operating in 64bit only mode or compatiblity mode (as opposed to legacy mode).
As an example, AMD64 doesn't use the extra registers unless it's in one of the 64bit modes...
I don't know if there will be a swing in power consumption, but I am curious to see any empirical evidence one way or the other...
Derek - Thanks for the heads up on the test (Powernow usage...)!