Encoding Performance
Encoding 720p content using the H.264 codec can still be done at reasonably high frame rates on a Core 2 Quad processor. The Q9650 for example hit 115.4fps, which was just a few frames faster than the Pentium G3220, and the Celeron G1820 matched the Q6600.
The i3-4350 wasn't far behind the i7-870, though it was considerably faster than the i5-760. Again we see the Sandy Bridge Core i5-2500K and 2700K performing well.
Encoding 4K content with Hybrid using the H.265 codec saw the Celeron G1820 crush the Core 2 Quad Q9650. This time the i7-870 was slightly faster than the i3-4350, which matched the i5 760, and the i5-2500K was quite a bit slower than the 4690K.
The x264 HD Benchmark provided us with some interesting results. Here the Celeron G1820 was actually faster than the i5-760 when comparing results from the second pass. That said, it was considerably slower in the first pass test. This meant that again the Celeron G1820 was much faster than the Core 2 Quad range, at least when comparing the second pass results.
Using Video Master Works we once again find that the Celeron G1820 is much faster at encoding when compared to the fastest Core 2 Quad processor and it even outclassed the i5-760. The i7-870 did manage to beat the i3-4350 this time, though it was slower than the i5-2500K's very respectable performance.