Discussion Cores VS Frequency

[jnjnilson6]

If you had to swiftly decide between running a system with more cores at lighter frequency or a system at higher frequency harboring less cores what would your decision be?

Example:

1. 12 cores @ 2 GHz
2. 6 cores @ 4 GHz

I would ascertain in the affirmative my inclination toward the Processor harboring more cores albeit running at a lower frequency for a number of stark and effectually expressed reasons.

However, what would your decision be? And what would be the underlying reasons inclining you thusly?


Do write up and

Thank you!

ADDENDA:
Something I should have, perhaps, clarified. I am not looking into buying a CPU or anything like that; I am just wondering what the situation would be for the readers of the thread.

Perhaps, I have not correctly stated all the particulars within the thread lucidly and clearly in the beginning.

6 cores @ 4 GHz and 12 cores @ 2 GHz was only an example. That may well be 20 cores @ 3 GHz and 10 cores @ 6 GHz, or anything within that same general rhythm.

Now, I am asking which option you might prefer. For example, if you want to host many virtual machines, it would be better to have more cores. And if you are a gamer, a lesser number of cores, however at a higher speed may be better for you.

This reasoning may go on indefinitely, highlighting different Processor exertions in terms of different usage and therefore the need of either more cores at a slower speed or lesser cores at a faster one. And since there are many people on the forum I think we could make this quite the discussion.

I would like to know what You would prefer for what you'll be doing on your computer.

 

[KyaraM]

For me, gaming is the main use of the system so high clocks and IPC beats high core count in my case. However, I do use the system for other things like coding where more cores might be important. As a result, I grabbed a 12700K since it was one of the best gaming chips last year January and has high enough core count for what I want to do as well.

Had I needed a, say, workstation or server CPU, I would have gone with higher core counts instead. It really depends on what you need and want out of the system. However, as stated above it needs to be within a reasonable margin. Too big of a difference and the 12 core chip loses most of its advantage over the 6 core chip outside of very specific scenarios.

 

[DSzymborski]

The other issue with this question is it's not a binary choice.

I have a 5900X instead of an 5800X3D in my main rig because the extra cores matter to my daily workload over the slight gaming improvement of the 5800X3D. But cores aren't so performance relative to gaming that I have a Threadripper.