The Project - A Sequel

[Fire$torm]

Like Johnny 5 I need input.

I sent out a couple of PMs earlier and could still use more help. So here goes....

Code Name: Project-002

Hardware
MB: GigaByte GA-P55-UD6 - Courtesy of Beerdrinker

CPU: ??? ($$$)

RAM: Corsair TR3X6G1600C9 - 6GB or Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 6GB

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB

GPU: ??? ($$$)

Csae: Custom (by yours truly). Either an open case made from 1/4" copper tubing or a full tower from one of the local pre-owned resellers which I will mod like crazy.

I will be looking for used items as long the price is substantially lower.

Core i3 vs. Core i5.

For crunching which series gives the best bang/$?

I've been informed that there is no clear cut distinction between the two and what I've read so far hasn't shed a whole lot of light on the matter. Also note that the quad cores are way outside my budget so I will not consider any of those for this system.

I have in my searches found a new i5-655K (unlocked multiplier) for around $110 w/o HS. Is it worth the money?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


BTW: Because of this new build I will eventually (Not today) have to give up one or two of the "Team Systems" currently in my possession. I will post it in the "Giveaway" thread when this project nears completion.

[joker]

BTW: Because of this new build I will eventually (Not today) have to give up one or two of the "Team Systems" currently in my possession. I will post it in the "Giveaway" thread when this project nears completion.

NOT SEVEN!!

[Fire$torm]

BTW: Because of this new build I will eventually (Not today) have to give up one or two of the "Team Systems" currently in my possession. I will post it in the "Giveaway" thread when this project nears completion.

NOT SEVEN!!

Errr, hmmmm.... HELL NO!

[Mike029]

Errr, hmmmm.... HELL NO!

Whew!!! Thought you were breaking up with her already. The honeymoon is over!!! Crunch or be replaced.

[DrPop]

I would go HERE and on the right under CPU Product Benchmarks, put the lower end one you're looking at on the top, and the higher end one you're looking at on the bottom, and click View Comparison.
Note the MULTI-threaded benchmarks toward the middle and bottom of the list, as that is where the difference will be with BOINC. There may not be much difference in single-threaded apps, but running Multi-threaded apps like BOINC, (look at the R10 Multi-threaded benchmark for instance), there will be a very large difference.

So, my vote would be on the i5, but that's just because. Obviously, you can only do what you can do...which is what I'm finding out due to R.L.

[JerWA]

The problem with most benchmark charts like that is they don't take overclocking into account. Not an issue if you don't plan to overclock of course, but if you're budget shopping then overclocking should be something you're at least considering.

PS: There are very few multi-threaded apps in BOINC. AQUA is the only one I know of off the top of my head, but I think one other project was playing with them as well?

Multi-threaded benchmarks are an easier way of gauging the "total" capability of a processor though, so still useful for getting an idea of how two would compare when running BOINC apps. Like "is the fast 2 core better than the slow 4 core."

It's just that BOINC is typically just running multiple instances of a single threaded app, not running an actual multi-threaded app. Though, really when you get down to it, all of them are multi-threaded but the vast majority are single process but that's a whole different rabbit hole.

Anywho, point being, most of the apps are going to limit themselves to a single core (logical or physical), so per-core performance matters. But, since it's unlikely that a) you'll be shopping two procs so far apart in capabilities that fewer faster cores will be able to compete with more slower cores in terms of BOINC, and b) running apps that are 100% efficient, more cores still wins the day (even if they're "fake" like with hyper-threading).