Cinebench
Graphics is a classic example of a computing problem that's easily parallelizable, so it's no surprise that we can exploit a multi-core processor with a 3D rendering app. Cinebench is the first of those we'll try, a benchmark based on Maxon's Cinema 4D rendering engine. It's multithreaded and comes with a 64-bit executable. This test runs with just a single thread and then with as many threads as CPU cores are available.

The tables turn dramatically, with Athlon 64 FXs occupying the top ranks of the results and the X2s clearly leading their Core 2 counterparts. Will this pattern hold in another rendering app?

POV-Ray rendering
We've finally caved in and moved to the beta version of POV-Ray 3.7 that includes native multithreading. The latest beta 64-bit executable is still quite a bit slower than the 3.6 release, but it should give us a decent look at comparative performance, regardless.

Yes, the pattern holds in POV-Ray, with the FX processors finishing 1-2-3 and the Athlon 64 X2 4400+ edging out the much pricier Core 2 Duo E6600.

POV-Ray's officially sanctioned benchmark scene takes advantage of features that our old Chess2 scene doesn't, and some of those features aren't multithreaded. That's why the dual-core processors gain back some ground here, with the Core 2 Extreme X6800 completing the render before the Core 2 Quad Q6600. Even so, the Athlon 64s retain their edge.