HandBrake is an application that converts sound and video files to other formats. Compared to TMPG we used in previous reviews, this one is multi-threaded so it can use the processor to its full potential.

POV-Ray, for Persistence of Vision Raytracer, is a 3D rendering software that has impressive photorealistic capabilities.

In video encoding, the E8400 appeared to be the king. At 3.78GHz, the Athlon could almost reach it. As for its stock performance, it scored much closer to the Phenom II X2 than to its ancestor the Athlon X2 7850. POV-Ray demonstrated the same performance order, except that the overclocked Athlon II got at the top, leading by a big margin.