Encoding Performance

The FX-8150 was 15% quicker than the X6 1100T with 113.8fps in HandBrake, while scoring only 2% lower than the i5-2500K and 5% behind the i7-2600K.

The lesser-clocked FX-8120 performed as well as the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition, while the FX-6100 was 3% slower than the X6 1100T. Clock for clock, AMD's dated processor won the hexa-core battle. Likewise, the X4 980 was much faster than the FX-4170.

The x264 HD Benchmark 4.0 produced another interesting result. In the Pass 1 test, the FX-8150's 121.3fps showing was 2% slower than the X6 1100T, 15% slower than the i5-2500K, and 17% slower than the i7-2600K. At the same time, the dated X4 980 was only 1% slower than the FX-8210 and it fared 11% better than the FX-4170.

Things were quite different in the Pass 2 test, as the FX-8150 scored the best with 37.1fps, beating the i7-2600K by half a percent. The FX-6100 and FX-4170 still lagged behind their Phenom II counterparts.

The last encoding benchmark uses TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress to measure the AVI to MPG conversion time. AMD's latest offering slipped behind Sandy Bridge again as the i5-2500K and i7-2600K outmatched the FX-8150 by 27% and 31%. The FX-8150, FX-8120 and FX-6100 all delivered roughly the same performance. The FX-4170 fell to the bottom of the chart, sitting 2% lower than the X6 1100T and 5% behind the X4 980.