Hybrid vs Native Dual X16 SLI: Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus vs Abit IN9 32X-MAX
WorldBench Multi-task & MP3 Encoding
We continued our comparison of the ASUS and Abit motherboards with a Windows Media Encoder benchmark that is is also part of the Worldbench 5.0 suite, a video is encoded using Windows Media Encoder, while an instance of the Mozilla browser is also running and navigating through various cached pages. Because the system is multi-tasking with two different applications, this test is more taxing and representative of a common multitasking end user experience.
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Staying consistent with the previous two WorldBench tests, all four boards post scores within 5% of each other. The Intel P965 based AB9 Pro manages to lead the slowest board, the P5N32-E SLI Plus, by 17 seconds. Once again, during real-world usage, the performance difference would be nearly unnoticeable.
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In our custom LAME MT MP3 encoding test, we convert a large WAV file to the MP3 format, which is a very popular scenario that many end users work with on a day-to-day basis, to provide portability and storage of their digital audio content. In this test, we created our own 223MB WAV file (a never-ending Grateful Dead jam) and converted it to the MP3 format using the multi-thread capable LAME MT application in single and multi-thread modes. Processing times are recorded below. Once again, shorter times equate to better performance.
The Abit AB9 Pro wins again, although its bigger brother, the IN9 32X-MAX isn't far behind, tying it in the multi-threaded benchmark. The 1-2 second difference between the two boards doesn't seem like much but it could add up if your in the habit of encoding huge amounts of MP3s in one go. This is especially common with portable music players that use proprietary encoders to load files into memory.