Round 3: Multitasking

Our SysMark test gauges a processor's ability to work with a series of applications, but it doesn't really give us an idea of how well a CPU handles two intensive tasks simultaneously. That's where our multitasking test comes in. If you've ever run a virus scan on your PC (and we hope you have), you've likely experienced the swimming-in-molasses effect this process has on overall performance. But if you believe the marketing hype, dual-core CPUs are supposed to make virus scanning faster while letting you perform other tasks at the same time without delay.

To test dual-core CPUs then, we employ McAfee's VirusScan to inspect 40GB worth of files, while simultaneously encoding an 85MB video file using a program called Dr. Divx. We then time how long it takes each chip to complete both tasks. The results of our tests skewed heavily in AMD's favor (sensing a pattern yet?).



The best Intel could place on this test was fourth, with its $999 Pentium Processor Extreme Edition 840 chip coming within 4 seconds of the $507 Athlon 64 X2 4400+. It's also interesting to note that all three of Intel's Pentium D chips finished last on this test. As we saw in the last round with the gaming test, AMD overachieves to the point where even its budget Athlon 64 X2 3800+ chip outpaces Intel's second-fastest Pentium D 840. If you are like most computer users, you have more than one window running more of the time. And if you are like most computer users reading this story, you will draw the same conclusion as we have: AMD's Athlon X2 processors are the clear choice for superior multitasking performance.

Winner: AMD