Most of the higher profile features of H.264 actually decrease CPU requirements at the same quality level, because they reduce bitrate required for a given quality (in particular, B-frames and 8x8dct).
The only things that significantly affect CPU usage are CABAC, deblocking, bitrate, and resolution. Sticking to a "mobile" profile (i.e. Baseline Profile) is needlessly slashing quality.
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That's not necessarily a good idea.
Most of the higher profile features of H.264 actually decrease CPU requirements at the same quality level, because they reduce bitrate required for a given quality (in particular, B-frames and 8x8dct).
The only things that significantly affect CPU usage are CABAC, deblocking, bitrate, and resolution. Sticking to a "mobile" profile (i.e. Baseline Profile) is needlessly slashing quality.