transcoding performance

[DancesWithLysol]

I'm curious ...

based on what you guys have seen of Intel P4 and AMD Athlon XP systems, which system gives the best performace for transcoding videos.

Looking at benchmarks like this I would assume it is the Pentium 4. Is this indeed correct? Is spending more on the P4 worth it for a PVR machine (where you want excellent transcoding performance).

[WillP]

I certainly haven't tested different cpu's with PVS. But the P4 usually outperforms an AthlonXP when doing video/audio encoding. However a P4 is more expensive. If you compare a P4 with an AthlonXP of an equal price, the AMD cpu is probably the winner.

Also the difference would probably not be too noticable in the real world anyway. So basically I wouldn't get a P4 solely for transcoding performance. To be fair, there are other good reasons to get a P4.

Will