PC World - USA (2020-12)

42 PCWorld DECEMBER 2020

REVIEWS AMD RYZEN 5000

multi-core CPUs can shine. First up, we’ll look

at an encoding task using the latest version of

HandBrake (version 1.3.3) to transcode the

open-source Tears of Steel UHD 4K video (go.

pcworld.com/trsl) to H.265/HEVC using the

1080p/30-fps preset. HandBrake is an

excellent encoder and does favor more cores

and higher clock speeds, as well as any

special instructions the CPUs offer.

Core counts above 16 tend to yield

diminishing returns, but down here with

“just” 16 cores and below, core counts

matter. The 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X

decreases encode times over the 12-core

Ryzen 9 3900XT by 20.7 percent. That’s

impressive as hell, and pretty close to

AMD’s promise of 20-percent improvement

over its previous design.

What about Intel? The new Ryzen 9

5900XT encodes take about 29 percent less

time, with only about 20 percent more

threads. The 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X

decreases the encode time by 39 percent,

which again is a very decent return based on

having 60 percent more threads.

While HandBrake is a free and popular

encoder, we also wanted to look at tasks

powerful CPUs get used for: video editing

and photo editing. For that we use the latest

version of Adobe Creative Cloud Premiere

Pro and run the CPUs through workstation

builder Puget System’s benchmark tests (go.

pcworld.com/pgsy). It breaks the test into

various GPU-heavy and CPU-heavy tasks

using MultiCam modes, as well as various

popular professional codecs. When it’s done,

the benchmark produces a score. For our

tests, we ran the standard test run.

First, we’ll point out the result between

the 12-core Ryzen 9 3900XT and the 10-core

Core i9-10900K chip. Despite its lower core

count, the Core i9 actually edges out the

Ryzen 9 3900XT by about 4 percent. Based

on that, Intel has the advantage—barely.

The 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X, however,

opens up a real gap to the tune of 13 percent.

HandBrake 1.3.3 4K

Video to HEVC 1080p/30

Seconds

Ryzen 9 5950X Vermeer 16/32

Ryzen 9 5900X Vermeer 12/24

Ryzen 9 3900XT Matisse 12/24

Core i9-10900K Comet Lake S10/20

SHORTER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

508

709

587

833

Adobe Premiere 14.5

PugetBench 0.92

Seconds

Ryzen 9 5950X Vermeer 16/32

Ryzen 9 5900X Vermeer 12/24

Core i9-10900K Comet Lake S10/20

Ryzen 9 3900XT Matisse 12/24

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

1,214

1,0 62

1,19 6

1,022