Fastest processor on the market for a single thread?

[slugg]

I'm not really sure how to word what I'm trying to ask, but I'll do my best.

In the growing market of multi-core chips, speed has become a very relative term. One may argue that a 3.0 ghz dual core is faster than a 2.66 ghz quad core, or vice versa. They are each "faster" in their own regard. The quad core can definitely achieve more throughput, however the dual core could definitely run a single thread at a higher instruction rate.

So I'm in the market for a CPU that will execute single threaded software (not multi-threaded) at the fastest speed. This essentially makes the number of cores a moot point - so dual, tri, or quad core would not make a difference.

Here are the requirements:
1. Two (or more) cores. One core will be used for system ops and scheduling, the other core(s) will be dedicated to workload.
2. The CPU must be in the "consumer grade" market, so this eliminates the server class chips. I'm doing this for the sake of price.

If you'd like to share any other pertinent information, such as chipset or memory selection, please feel free. All input is greatly appreciated!

I'm looking into the possibility of building my own personal workstation. I do research in image analysis and computer vision, so it'd be nice to have my own gear.

EDIT: It's worth noting that I'm completely agnostic to brand names. AMD, Intel, or whatever is fine. I just require Linux and Windows support.

 

[ilkhan]

C2D e8600 and overclock
i7 975 and overclock
i7 870 and overclock

You are going to be heat limited on any of those, probably the absolute fastest at single threaded would be the e8600, purely because you can overclock it to a much higher speed. The i7s can fairly reliably hit around 4Ghz, the e8600 should hit closer to 5Ghz. That'll change when clarkdale chips come out, but its true for now.

If you cant overclock the 870 has turbo mode taking it better clock speed than the C2D in dual core operations, has 4 cores for if your software gets multithreaded, and is cheaper than the i7 975. The 860 isn't quite as good, but close. Unless you have budget to spare Id suggest the 870, 950, or 860.

 

[alyarb]

wait for clarkdale. so close.

 

[slugg]

Would I be able to use my existing Artic Cooling Freezer Pro HSF on that clarkdale?

 

[alyarb]

hahaha, god that thing. it's not that great of a heatsink and i really doubt it. you can count on the usual suspects, cooler master, xigmatek, sunbeam etc to have $20 120mm heat towers when the time comes. you just really want the 32nm dual core nehalem over the e8600.

 

[Zensal]

At stock, I believe a new i7 870 would be the fastest with it's turbo mode.

If you're overclocking, that changes things...

 

[slugg]

Let's say light overclocking with no voltage changes...

 

[alyarb]

i would say e8600's can do better than 4ghz @ stock. with clarkdale, though, 5 ghz is likely within your grasp and you get a 32nm nehalem core, which is a 10+% single-threaded boost in itself. no need to be skittish about a little voltage though.

 

[DrMrLordX]

It should be noted that chips like the 920 D0 can go very very far on stock vcore as well. Not sure how it would stack up in single-threaded apps vs the E8600 after overclocking, but I would think it'd be very competitive (not to speak of clarksdale, which isn't out yet).

If you're really serious about stock vcore overclocking though, try to avoid any of Intel's chips for LGA-1156 (integrated PCI-E controller likes/wants/needs extra vcore for overclocking) and make sure that your cooling is rock solid.

Also, don't overlook the Xeons entirely; there's the W3520 which is more-or-less a rebadged i7 920 (guaranteed D0 stepping).

 

[RussianSensation]

From Anandtech's Review:

Option #1: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz

3.2GHz (160 x 20.0)

3C/4C Active: 3.96GHz
2C Active: 4.00GHz
1C Active: 4.16GHz

Option #2: Intel Core i7 860 2.80GHz
If you intend to keep this CPU for a while, get the Core i7 860 since today most apps are dual threaded already:

With a minor overclock to 3.23GHz (154 x 21.0)

3C/4C Active: 3.54GHz
2C Active: 3.85GHz
1C Active: 4.00GHz

Plus, if you ever choose to go higher, you may get 4.0ghz on all 4 cores.

I don't recommend that you build a new system from scratch with a S775 socket. You can get a $110 board with Gigabyte P55-UD2 (or similar) and a Core i5 750 for $200 which at stock speeds is faster than any C2D or C2Q ever made. The only premium right now is in the 4GB of DDR3 ram.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
From Anandtech's Review:

Option #1: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz

3.2GHz (160 x 20.0)

3C/4C Active: 3.96GHz
2C Active: 4.00GHz
1C Active: 4.16GHz

Option #2: Intel Core i7 860 2.80GHz
If you intend to keep this CPU for a while, get the Core i7 860 since today most apps are dual threaded already:

With a minor overclock to 3.23GHz (154 x 21.0)

3C/4C Active: 3.54GHz
2C Active: 3.85GHz
1C Active: 4.00GHz

Plus, if you ever choose to go higher, you may get 4.0ghz on all 4 cores.

I don't recommend that you build a new system from scratch with a S775 socket. You can get a $110 board with Gigabyte P55-UD2 (or similar) and a Core i5 750 for $200 which at stock speeds is faster than any C2D or C2Q ever made. The only premium right now is in the 4GB of DDR3 ram.

But didn't he say stock volts? And the 1156 chips need a boost in vcore (?) because of the on-die PCI-E controller if you want to do any overclocking. So I don't think that will happen for him.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
But didn't he say stock volts? And the 1156 chips need a boost in vcore (?) because of the on-die PCI-E controller if you want to do any overclocking. So I don't think that will happen for him.

I dont think he'll need a boost in voltage at 3.2ghz from 2.8.

 

[Shmee]

for low voltage OC's, I would recomend either the i7 D0, or a C2D or C2Q E0. These include chips like E8500, E8600, some E8400's, some Q9550's, Q9650's, as well as some xeon equivalents.