Best for single threaded and quiet?

[chx1975]

I have a task which is mostly CPU bound (almost to the point of a synthetic benchmark). Most of the time I want to run one of it, very occasionally I'll need to run a lot of them where I can control how many execute in parallel. (For example think of compiling a single program vs make -j N)

I have a SG02 micro ATX case with a Seasonic 520W PSU and the passive NT06-E cooler.

My options seem to be:
- i3-4340 at 54W
- i7-4770S at 65W. Is this worth the price premium over the 4340 in this case?
- i7-4770K if I can overclock it 10-20% then it'll significantly beat the 4340 for sure. But how to cool it within the 82mm cooler clearance this chassis offers -- Silverstone has a new NT06-Pro cooler designed for this and the page claims with the bottom 120x20mm fan it's good for up to 95W. Maybe there are other low profile coolers that would work? Or perhaps get a new case too -- what case / cooler is capable of quiet cooling an OC'd i7-4770k?
- i3-3770K although it's a bit slower perhaps than the Haswell ones, it has a lower TDP to start with and so perhaps it'd be easier to overclock?

 

[VincentP]

Core i3 is 2 cores + hyper threading
Core i5 is 4 cores
Core i7 is 4 cores + hyper threading

In a situation where one single threaded process is running constantly, each of these will run near their max turbo boost frequency as long as they don't exceed the rated TDP.

Core i3 4340 54W, 3.6GHz (no turbo boost)
Core i5 4670S 65W, 3.1GHz/3.8GHz
Core i5 4670 84W, 3.4GHz/3.8GHz
Core i7 4770S 65W, 3.1GHz/3.9GHz
Core i7 4770K 84W, 3.5GHz/3.9GHz

The low power models will be limited by their lower TDP.
I don't think these are going to offer a benefit.

Cooling won't be a problem.
An after market cooler could benefit noise, something like the Skythe Big Shuriken 2.

For a single threaded application, you will only get a benefit of about 5% from core i3 to core i5, then 5% from core i5 to core i7.
For a process that can fully utilize 4 cores, you will get about 45% improvement from core i3 to core i5 and 5% from core i5 to core i7.
For a process that can fully utilize 8 cores, you will get about 45% improvement from core i3 to core i5 and 35% from core i5 to core i7.

These are just rough numbers, but it should give you a pretty good idea of the difference.

 

[CTurbo]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

Intel Haswell is definitely the way to go. If you can afford the 4770k, that the obvious choice with the i5 4670k next up. Any of these chips would be easy to cool and are the most efficient cpus on the market currently. The i3 4340 is a VERY strong dual core, but would dual core be enough for you?
Keep in mind that any Xeon e3-12xx-v3 is Haswell and will fit in the LGA1150 socket. The e3-1230v3 is the cheapest "i7" you can buy. The e3-1240v3 is basically a cheaper 4770 with graphics disabled. If you need the integrated graphics, the e3-1245v3 is just $10 more and should still be a little cheaper than the regular 4770.

 

[VincentP]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

Intel Haswell is definitely the way to go. If you can afford the 4770k, that the obvious choice with the i5 4670k next up. Any of these chips would be easy to cool and are the most efficient cpus on the market currently. The i3 4340 is a VERY strong dual core, but would dual core be enough for you?
Keep in mind that any Xeon e3-12xx-v3 is Haswell and will fit in the LGA1150 socket. The e3-1230v3 is the cheapest "i7" you can buy. The e3-1240v3 is basically a cheaper 4770 with graphics disabled. If you need the integrated graphics, the e3-1245v3 is just $10 more and should still be a little cheaper than the regular 4770.

Are you sure that the e3-1240 v3 will work with unbuffered memory?
If ECC memory is required, you end up needing a much more expensive motherboard.

 

[chx1975]

I've seen the cpubenchmark page but was unsure how reliable it is. I have a GPU already (just a 7770, a few games I play) so no graphics is good. So far the E3-1240V3 is indeed looking like quite the winner edit: if it works with normal RAM. For cooling, I am really leaning towards NT06-Pro simply because it's designed for this chassis. I am not quite sure of its fan though so I might want to exchange it for a Yate Loon 120x20mm fan -- but that's not a PWM fan. So is there a cheap LGA 1150 motherboard that can control (preferably automated) the voltage to the fan? Edit: micro ATX size.

 

[chx1975]

The 1230 is said to work without ECC in http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/343775-28-using-xeon-1230 here and http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2295453 here. Those are v2 but I don't think the v3 makes a difference.

 

[CTurbo]

The e3-1230v3 and e3-1240v3 are incredible values that most people aren't aware of.

 

[CTurbo]

v2 = Ivy Bridge and is LGA1155 socket
v3 = Haswell and is LGA1150 socket