Pix4D 4.6.4: CPU Performance Roundup

Introduction

Intel's 12th Gen Core desktop processors launched toward the end of 2021, as did Windows 11, making this a great time to do a roundup looking at performance in Pix4D across a wide range of different processor lines. How does Intel's new Core i9 12900K stack up against AMD's Ryzen 5000 Series, Threadripper, and Threadripper Pro chips – as well as Intel's own 11th Gen Core, Xeon W, and Core X Series?

For this article, we are looking at samples from multiple Intel and AMD processor families – both current and some older models that have performed well in the past. The focus is on photogrammetry processing in Pix4Dmapper, for which we have developed internal benchmarks here in our lab. More info about those tools and how we use them are available in the Test Methodology section.

Test Setup

Listed below are the specifications of the systems we used for our testing:

Test Methodology

For benchmarking photogrammetry applications we now have four image sets that we own the rights to, covering both smaller and larger size Model and Map projects. All of these image sets are available in our public Pix4D benchmarks, split up to allow quick or extended testing, which you can download and run if you want to compare your system's performance to what we measured for this article.

• Rock Model – 82 photos at 20 megapixels each
• School Map – 51 photos at 18 megapixels each
• School Model – 278 photos at 18 megapixels each
• Park Map – 810 photos at 18 megapixels each

Benchmark Results

There are a lot of processors in this round-up, so to help a little we have colored Intel models in blue and AMD in green. Results are listed from fastest at the top to slowest at the bottom and split up by image set.

We have also compiled all of our results into a chart, for those interested in more fine-grain details:

Analysis

Intel's new Core i9 12900K is a smash hit in Pix4D, thanks to its combination of high per-core performance and an increased number of cores (compared to past, mainstream Intel models). It took top billing in three of our four tests, but the large Park Map shows that when dealing with bigger projects an even higher core count CPU will pull ahead. AMD's Threadripper Pro 3975WX was the fastest in that test, and since it also supports a lot more system memory that platform is better suited to really large mapping jobs.

AMD's Ryzen 5000 Series did well too, across the board, but wasn't quite fast enough to beat Intel's latest offering. As for Intel's own alternatives, the older 11th Gen Core was okay with models but struggled with maps – and the Core X and Xeon W models were generally among the slowest CPUs we tested in this review.

What is the best CPU for Pix4D?

Intel's Core i9 12900K is the fastest CPU we've tested yet for processing models and small maps in Pix4D. For larger maps, anything above roughly 500 photos, AMD's Threadripper Pro 3975WX is even faster – and supports a lot more system memory as well.