Top CPUs for Folding@Home

[NoMoreQuarantine]

(click to expand)


foldinghomealone is maintaining a database of user submitted PPD using the HFM.NET. The current database can be seen here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing. If you would like to contribute, I wrote a guide on setting up HFM.NET and submitting to the database viewtopic.php?f=16&t=34516

Additionally, I created a graphing and comparison tool that pulls from the database: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=35071

(The following is the old post, will update later)
Looking to upgrade your computer or building a new one? I spent a stupid amount of time compiling this short ordered list of theoretically top performing CPUs for each price point. I did this by taking the average CPU benchmark scores from https://www.cpubenchmark.net/power_performance.html eliminated any embedded, server, or OEM CPUs from the list; added the price from Amazon or Newegg (whichever was lower); sorted by performance; and finally went down the list and removed any processor that was more expensive than the previous one. You can see the performance/watt and performance/dollar in the last two columns.



Hopefully you guys find this useful. I'm planning on doing the same thing for GPUs eventually, but I'm a little burned out after this

I have done the same for GPUs, see here: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=34240

[ispyisail]

+1

[Roadpower]

Oh, this is pretty neat. Especially since the 3700X made it on to the list.

Thanks for doing this!

[v00d00]

280w is insane. I thought the old AMD X2 3400 was hot, but 280w is insanity level. What sort of cooling solution do you need to keep temps below 40C?

[NoMoreQuarantine]

280w is insane. I thought the old AMD X2 3400 was hot, but 280w is insanity level. What sort of cooling solution do you need to keep temps below 40C?

Big fat ones or water cooling: https://www.amd.com/en/thermal-solutions-threadripper

With complex cooling solutions and motherboard chipsets that require their own active cooling, Threadrippers are definitely in the "money is not an obstacle" price range.

[Kebast]

Nice list. Kinda wish I'd gotten the 3900x when I built my latest PC. I got the 3800x on a good deal though, so couldn't pass it up . Still, beast of a CPU.

[MrFrizzy]

280w is insane. I thought the old AMD X2 3400 was hot, but 280w is insanity level. What sort of cooling solution do you need to keep temps below 40C?

40C? You don't under any full load, in fact you just don't with any modern retail CPU. Unless you are doing sub-ambient cooling, even the best watercooling setup will only get you into the 50s with 3rd gen Threadripper, most I have seen are in the 60s. Now individual CCD temps can vary a lot, but i'm referencing the hottest one. That isn't because the CPU is inefficient, it is simply down to physics and power density.

One of the biggest challenges with going with smaller and smaller manufacturing processes (3990X is currently 7nm) is that the smaller area is harder to get the heat out of because the power density goes up! It isn't a linear scale either, but exponential. So it doesn't matter if the coolant in your watercooling loop is at ambient temp, the heat the chips are producing has to get transmitted through the chip, through the solder, through the heat spreader, through the thermal paste, into your waterblock's cold plate, and then into the coolant which really is no different than any other CPU. The limitation is simply moving that heat away from a tiny area, not the cooling capacity itself. The Threadripper chips are actually pretty efficient and some of the best performers as they are cherry picked and binned. Keep in mind though, that 280W is spread out amongst 9 different chips in a rather large area so combine that with the binned chips and you've got a package that performs very well and stays relatively cool given a 280W TDP.

Now if CPUs were bare dies like GPUs, we would end up with much lower temps across the board. Direct die cooling is much more powerful, however, it puts the die at a significant risk of damage should the cooler be mounted improperly, the chip is dropped, something is dropped on the chip, etc. It works for GPUs as the cooler is mounted at the factory with the assumption that the cooler will not have to be removed/replaced during the card's usable lifespan. For CPUs, completely different story having a range of users from those building a computer for the first time to professionals who do that all day; it would be a warranty nightmare to go direct die and ditch the IHS.

[NoMoreQuarantine]

Thanks MrFrizzy. I saw the "What sort of cooling solution do you need" and completely ignored the 40C part. Great info!