[SOLVED] Fastest 8-core CPU for 500$?

[mrwolf33]

Hi there

What would be the fastest CPU I can get for 500$, even second hand or refurbished? 8 cores or more needed

I have been looking around to get an idea; I need this for incredibly heavy compilation jobs (think about compiling Gentoo packages all the time).

I will choose what goes around it (mini PC, ATX etc) based on the CPU since is the most important detail.

 

[tennis2]

What country are you shopping in?

On the "consumer-tier" side of things, you're looking at an i9-10850K/10900K (or upcoming 11th gen) or Ryzen 5800X

 

[mrwolf33]

What country are you shopping in?

Belgium; but I can order from nearby EU countries without many problems.

On the "consumer-tier" side of things, you're looking at an i9-10850K/10900K (or upcoming 11th gen) or Ryzen 5800X

Thanks, those look like interesting suggestions. I see that for intel it's FCLGA1200 socket and for AMD the AM4 one; so for an Intel one I could use a ProDesk G6 mini for example

 

[yeetbucket]

can it be 550 dollars? If it can, and you can get a 5900x at msrp, then you could be getting a 12 core 24 thread cpu for 549 dollars

 

[mrwolf33]

Now I am thinking that the FCLGA1200 would limit my choice in 2nd hand gear..what if I aim for FCLGA1151? Are there any 10 cores/20 threads on that older socket? Then I could fit it in a ProDesk G5 which is cheaper to find.

can it be 550 dollars? If it can, and you can get a 5900x at msrp, then you could be getting a 12 core 24 thread cpu for 549 dollars

It could be, but I am thinking that going with a too new socket will cost too much for this project..do you think I could make a cheap AM4 setup around it? Doesn't necessarily have to be mini

 

[geofelt]

Define "fastest"
For some, that will mean best single thread performance.
I suspect that this may be what a compiler needs most.

For apps which can be effectively multithreaded, then the total capability becomes the fastest.
Look up the passmark ratings of any prospective processor.

Today, the 10 core/20 thread Intel i9-10900K sells for <$500.
https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i9-10900k-core-i9-10th-gen/p/N82E16819118122
The passmark rating is 24059 which is when all 20 threads are fully at 100%.
The single thread rating is 3171.
If you are willing to overclock, you can do better.
On the ryzen side, the 8 core/16 thread ryzen 5800X sells for <$500:
https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-7-5800x/p/N82E16819113665?&quicklink=true
It has a rating of 28656/3507
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+7+5800X&id=3869
Ryzen does not overclock well, so do not plan on that.

Next week, intel will launch the 11th gen processors with a rumored 19% uplift in performance per clock.
We will see what the price and performance will really be.

 

[mrwolf33]

For some, that will mean best single thread performance.
I suspect that this may be what a compiler needs most.

Raw single core/thread power

 

[geofelt]

Raw single core/thread power

leaks indicate that the I9-11900K may beat the ryzen 5950x in single thread performance:

Intel Core i9-11900K Rocket Lake Flagship Scores Huge In Geekbench, Fastest Single-Threaded CPU Performance Ever Recorded & 13% Faster Than AMD's Zen 3

The latest benchmarks of Intel's Core i9-11900K Rocket Lake flagship CPU have leaked over and show the fastest single-core performance ever.

wccftech.com

The launch price is supposed to be $600. ryzen 5950x price is >$1000 if you can find one to buy.

 

[mdd1963]

No matter what the 11700K/11900K achieve over the 10700K/10900K (if anything), the 5900X/5950X will not be suddenly 'slow' in anything by comparison....especially in things where cores matter...

 

[Karadjgne]

5800x. Beats the 11700k in almost every catagory at stock settings and does not require over the top exotic cooling solutions to do so. Run it with 4x8Gb dimms of 3800MHz ram or 2x 16Gb dimms to take advantage of dual rank.

 

[mrwolf33]

I am getting a second-hand E5-2698; it's the best I could get with this budget. Now I need to think what to put around it...I need to decide between a server board or a workstation board

 

[geofelt]

I am getting a second-hand E5-2698; it's the best I could get with this budget. Now I need to think what to put around it...I need to decide between a server board or a workstation board

Sorry...
If you are looking for raw/single thread power, I think you made the wrong choice.
Single thread passmark rating is 2066:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E5-2698+v4+@+2.20GHz&id=2806
The power of the chip comes from the 40 threads.
But, you say you can use only 8.
There are many better solutions at <$500.
A better pick might have been the $230 i5-10600K with a single thread rating of 2937
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-10600K+@+4.10GHz&id=3735

But, since you ave already bought, that is moot.
You will need a lga2011-v3 motherboard.
Usually, desktop motherboards go for less than server motherboards which may have two cpu sockets.
And, you will usually need to supply a discrete graphics card at extra cost.
Graphics cards are scarce and overpriced today because of cryptomining.

If you can, return the E5-2698 .
You will still be better off if you have to eat it.

 

[tennis2]

I am getting a second-hand E5-2698; it's the best I could get with this budget.

Says he needs best single-core performance and 8 cores. Is offered current-gen options that have maximum single thread performance AND exceed the specified core count.....buys a 5.5 year old CPU with far more cores than required with far inferior single-core performance.....

 

[logainofhades]

I am getting a second-hand E5-2698; it's the best I could get with this budget. Now I need to think what to put around it...I need to decide between a server board or a workstation board

That is exactly what you shouldn't do. An R7 5800x is the fastest 8c cpu, and is $450. Even a 10700k would be a far better choice, than that old thing.

 

[mrwolf33]

Says he needs best single-core performance and 8 cores. Is offered current-gen options that have maximum single thread performance AND exceed the specified core count.....buys a 5.5 year old CPU with far more cores than required with far inferior single-core performance.....

Nowhere I stated that only 8 cores will be used.

But, you say you can use only 8.

I never said that.

 

[tennis2]

If you NEED 16c/32t, why'd you say "8 cores or more". That tells us that 8 cores is sufficient. Further solidified by your statement that per-core performance was more important than # of cores (past 8).

# of cores and per-core performance are on the same side of thermal limit equation. Past a certain point (right now around 8c/16t) you have to give up per-core performance for >>> cores/threads because of power draw limitations. I hope whatever you're doing fully utilizes 32 threads, otherwise you've wasted on per-core (and subsequently total) performance.

Also, a 5.5 year old architecture isn't going to provide the same IPC (instructions per clock) when compared to modern architectures. 2.5GHz from 5 years ago isn't the same performance as 2.5GHz nowadays.

Was ECC a major requirement that you didn't share with us? The LGA 2011 platform is more costly than the AM4 platform.

 

[Karadjgne]

Look at the title. You said it. Fastest 8 core cpu. Doesn't get much more obvious than that.