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View Full Version : Why Does Video Encoding work so well with the P4's Netburst?


nFury8
12th November 2003, 10:06
I've read tons of CPU benchmarks and reviews, and this is one area where the Athlon has always got its butt kicked. I know that the P4's have a 20-stage pipeline, but most of the reviews I've read do not really explain in a revealing manner why video encoding just zips by in the Netburst architecture as opposed to the Athlon's. What I don't understand is: since the Athlon has always had more IPC's than Pentiums, isn't it even more easier to beat it in streaming data since its just a predictable and linear process? And even more so since Athlons only have a 10(or 12)-stage pipeline? I suppose one way of questioning it is: How do these two (Netburst-long pipeline and video encoding) work so well together along the way? All insults, mockeries and jeers are welcome as long as I end up enlightened. :)

ultimatebilly
12th November 2003, 10:39
I don't know much about processor-achitecture, but I think I have heard that most Athlons don't support SSE2, which is widely used in video-software, whereas this feature is supported by pentiums...

int 21h
12th November 2003, 19:21
Its the branch prediction stuff.