HandBrake

System Specs:

AMD Phenom II 955 overclocked to 3.6ghz
8 GB OCZ DDR3 1600
Asus M4A79T-Deluxe

So here is the strange thing I have noticed. I use a fairly HQ setup for trying to get as close to original quality out of DVD and BD for AppleTV 2. I have been averaging 11fps on most of my encodes. I have recently bumped up the priority of the encoder to Normal. The system is still just as responsive as it was before (I wouldn't try playing a game while doing it, but watching video, general internet usage etc. is no different then it not running). However now I am getting 55fps average with bursts into the high 70's. Is this normal?

I am running Windows 7 64bit w/ Handbrake svn3552

Sounds like you switched from BD to DVD or changed filters or have some other process running at normal sucking up cycles.

Post encoding logs for both.