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LAME is our MP3 encoding benchmark. We are CPU limited here so the XP2600+ should walk away with this. 2.53GHz P4 sits around the 175 second mark (with DDR memory) for reference.
That's what's known in the trade as an ass whooping. The mighty FPU on the XP2600+ does all the hard work in translating from raw PCM style wave data ripped from my test CD to the lossy MP3 format that gives the RIAA sleepless nights.
That's going to take some beating but can the CPU carry it over to SETI? I myself am a SETI runner, not so much for the science but for the competition. So this benchmark is very interesting as far as this reviewer is concerned. P4's are the tried and tested SETI kings with their high CPU clocks and gobs of memory bandwidth. Can the XP make a dent in that presumption?
Mmm, sub 3 hours with ease at stock and given that SETI likes memory bandwidth which the test CPU has comparatively little of, this result is very nice indeed. A new SETI CPU has landed, especially given the overclocks they give (more on that soon). It's all down to the mansize FPU, the fastest floating point unit on a consumer level processor to date. The mock 2.53GHz nudges in at just under 3 hours but figuratively speaking it doesn't get close. It would need RDRAM behind it to nudge along side the XP2600+'s result. Very impressive, Pifast to finish us off.
XP2200+ was quick but XP2600 is a monster at this benchmark. Taking the graphics card out of the equation and giving the CPU some proper numbers to chew on really shows its strength. The raw horsepower you get with this CPU is excellent and you really need a high clocked P4 to get close, something around the 2.7+ range with good memory bandwidth.
AMD have pushed the boat out for sure with this range topper.
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