SaintsEnd :
I am trying to figure out which intel cpu would give me the most bang for my buck and have been using this site to compare cpus.
I don't understand why this cpu which costs less
Intel Xeon X5675 @ 3.07GHz Is so much better then
Intel Core i7-2670QM @ 2.20GHz
And so I have come to the conclussion that everything I thought I "knew" was wrong. Can anyone help me out and explain what I am seeing here? Is low or high samples good? what does it mean by samples and what is single thread rating and its importance.
SaintsEnd,
Comparing CPU's is an interesting subject, full of subtleties.
Firstly, as in any comparison test, the parameters measured, method of measurement, the weighting- importance of each parameter, and the meaning of the composite score is critical.
In the case of Passmark, the CPU scores and ratings are an average of Performance Test users' systems. In some sense that is useful because they are real world results in many systems, but on the other hand, a person using the results needs to understand that averages may include anomalous variation- numbers that are wildly out of line. In the case of CPU's, there will be extremely high results for massively overclocked examples and then someone will have settings or OS problems that give "barely working" results and produce a very low score. The a averages are skewed when the CPU may be used in a dual configuration such as a Xeon X5600- or E5-2600 series. A Windows upgrade once changed the power saving option on my HP z420 and the Xeon E5-1620 performance was cut in half on Passmark overnight. If I had uploaded those results, that would have artificially lowered the average for E5-1620.
Another important consideration is to know the specifications of the CPU's. I refer to the excellent Intel ARK site often. For example the Xeon X5675:
http://ark.intel.com/products/52577/Intel-Xeon-Processor-X5675-12M-Cache-3_06-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI
Where it shows a 2011, 6-core, 12 thread @ 3.06 / 3.46, can be used in a dual LGA1366 configuration, 95W CPU supporting up to 288GB of DDR3-1333. The X5600 series CPU's were one of the best Xeon series- excellent performing and at a useful level four years later, and quite expensive new- that one was probably more than $1,100-1,200. I have an Dell Precision T5500 with an X5680 (6-core @ 3.33 /3.6GHz, 24GB, Quadro K2200 (4GB), Samsung 840 /WD RE4 1TB) and it runs as well as a current system.
The Intel Core i7-2670QM:
http://ark.intel.com/products/53469/Intel-Core-i7-2670QM-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz
This is a bit later in 2011, 4-core /8-thread @ 2.2 /3.2GHz LGA988, 45W, supporting 32GB of DDR3-1333. From the designation it's a laptop CPU and that's confirmed by the low base clock speed and low power usage, so these two CPU's are quickly recognizable as being for two completely different uses. The 6-core higher power, and faster clock speed Xeon, is useful in a pair for a fast server or heavy load calculation or visualization workstation made to run constantly.
When comparing the results, the Xeon is naturally going to produce a much higher calculation density- calculation cycles per second in the various Passmark floating point and integer tests, and the results are only meaning in that aspect in comparison to other CPU's using the same test, and as mentioned, subject to mediocre, terrible, or fantastically well worked out systems.
CPU's have a target use and the test can't say how well it will work in your use, so you need to go to the Passmark baselines and look at the systems tested. Do and advanced search for Xeon X5675 and you'll see that a pair of them produces a CPU score of 18728 on an EGVA Classified.. The highest single CPU score is 11562, on an ASUS P6T. By contrast, the i7-2670QM has a top CPU score of 7120 on a Dell 0HVRTT- which will be a laptop.
If you go to the searchable Passmark CPU chart:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
> The i7-2670QM is Ranked No. 287 with a 5874 average and the X5675 is No.148 at 8551. A pair of X5675s score 12822 and are No. 65 in the dual CPU list.
The next consideration is the cost /performance ratio and the average current sales price of the X5675 is given at $150, yielding a cost / performance index of 55.88-
very high. The $387 i7-2670QM as 15.81- it's slower and being newer more than twice as expensive, though 15 is not too bad. The No.1 CPU, the Xeon E5-2699 v3, - 18-core/ 36 thread at 2.3 /3.6GHz scores 22892 and costs $4,764 so it's ratio is only 4.9.
It's takes time a bit of depth of study to make CPU comparisons meaningful. If you're shopping, you might install Passmark Performance Test- there's a free 30 -day trial, evaluate your current system and use the advanced search to see which hardware produce better relative scores. Then as Someone Somewhere suggests, don't rely on only one test, and also test your system with Cinebench and see where it fits in.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15
Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID 1)
With Quadro K2200:
[ Passmark Rating = 4918 > CPU= 13941 / 2D= 823 / 3D= 3463 / Mem= 2668 / Disk= 4764
2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3490 / CPU = 9178 / 2D= 685 / 3D= 3566 / Mem= 1865 / Disk= 2122] [Cinebench 15 > CPU = 772 OpenGL= 99.72 FPS] 7.8.15
with Quadro K4200:
[ Passmark system rating = 3585 / CPU = 9346 / 2D= 683 / 3D= 4708 / Mem= 1850 / Disk= 2202]
With Quadro 4000
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]
Pending upgrade: PERC H310 PCIe SAS /SATA RAID controller, 2X WD Black 1TB (RAID 1)(Converts disk system from 3GB/s to 6GB/s)
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