Multithreaded performance
Dual-threaded WAV-encoding performance doesn't look too pretty on the Phenom 9600 either. Two cores sit practically idle during the conversion to MP3 and it shows. Again, Intel's non-native architecture seems to lick it up with ease.
Here's our first truly multi-threaded benchmark that takes advantage of the four-core processors. Phenom 9600 is able to beat out Athlon 64 X2 for the first time in the DivX-encoding test, thanks to concurrent processing, but still can't muster enough power to eclipse the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600.
CINEBENCH R10 64-bit provides a best-case scenario for AMD. All four cores are heavily taxed and the subsystem's efficiency comes somewhat into play. Quad-core is fundamentally better than dual-core if leveraged in the correct environment, clearly, but Intel's slowest four-core processor still takes top honours - just.
POV-Ray is another poster-child for multi-core processing. As such, Phenom 9600 becomes the fastest single-socket desktop processor produced by AMD but it has trouble in hanging on to the coat-tails of Intel's slowest quad-core CPU. Notice a trend here?
