22. Benchmarks - CPU Workload During Playback

At half TV resolution, all the chips hold their own during full size video playback. The figure only shows the standard formats of the boards.

At full TV resolution (High Quality), the ATI AiW128 shows its true colors. Thanks to Motion Compensation (MC) and iDCT, the system CPU is relieved of a lot of work. MPEG 2 videos can then be played back on systems with a slow processor. All the other chips are pushed to the limit with MPEG 2 (e.g. for DVD). Neither the TNT2 (on the Asus and Elsa boards) nor the G400 (Matrox) reduce the CPU workload for MPEG. This relationship is shown in the figure. Thanks to the Zoran chip, Matrox's proprietary, but space-intensive MJPEG format yields a lower CPU workload. By changing to the MPEG 2 format (DVD standard), the G400 is pushed to the limits of its performance range. The same applies to the TNT2. Only two other chips support Motion Compensation: Trident's Blade3D and S3's Savage4. At the time this test report was compiled, suitable graphic boards with video capture functionality based on the Blade3D or Savage4 were not available. 3dfx is not listed in the figure because capture is not possible at this resolution with the Voodoo3 3500TV.