[mythtv-users] New Mac Mini - one unrelated informal benchmark...

Dave Johnson dj4904 at gmail.com
Mon Jan 24 13:39:53 EST 2005


speaking of unrelated benchmarks...

I while ago I was processing analog VHS corporate media -> MJPEG full NTSC
captures -> MPEG2 DVD-spec'd streams with Discreet's Cleaner 5. My G3 tower
was talking an excruciating 12hrs to process each 1/2-hr clip.  I decided
I'd setup my 1.1GHz PC to do the same so I could process multiple files
simultaneously in order to make a deadline.

Here are the specs:

PC:
1GHz PIII (256kB L2, 153MHz FSB, 1150MHz CPU Speed/1150MHz L2 Cache Speed)
CUSL-2 Mobo
Windows 2000 Professional (forget SP number)

Mac:
G3 Tower 266MHz (512kB L2, 84MHz FSB, 292MHz CPU/194MHz L2)
Original Rev. A "Beige" codname "Gossomer" Mobo
Mac OS 10.1.6

Subsystems that were identical on each machine (exactly identical, as they
each used the same exact hardware):
512MB ECC SDRAM "Crucial" (the Mac didn't utilize the ECC function but the
CUSL-2 did)
Adaptec 29160 U3 SCSI Controller (160MB/s)
3x 36GB Atlas III 10k M160 SCSI Drive (1 boot/temp, 1 source, 1 destination)
Cleaner 5.0.0 (Mac/PC)

MJPEG source file was cropped, color-spaced correction, and heavily
processed with highest quality settings for a 5-7Mbps MPEG2 DVD-Spec stream.
The repeatable results show approximate times:

PC: 18Hrs
Mac: 12Hrs

Make of this what you will, but it is CERTAINLY not straight MHz, or even
bus speeds.

Anyone can argue any section of this totally informal test as invalid.  The
easiest is to claim that Discreet may not have optimzied the code for the PC
version of the software but I just can't imagine that would be the case.  If
we assume that Discreet abides by the rules of capitolizm, then we have to
assume that they put as much effort as attempting to build a quality product
on each platform.  If this is even remotely true, then the results certainly
support the idea that the PPC processing platform can really munge data...
and FAST.

okay, you platform biggots can flame amongst yourselves ;)

-=dave





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