threehosts,
The three CPU's that to me have the best cost / performance ratio are > AMD FX 8350 (8"-core), Xeon E5-1620 (4 core), and Xeon E5-1650 (6 Core). Only on Monday, I received the first new system I've bought since 2004, and HP z420 workstation with an E5-1620.
In my view, PC hardware has grown more task specialized and it is increasingly difficult -almost a contradiction in terms- to optimize a system for both workstation and gaming. Because of the investment and effort, if the system is image making, assemble:: a Xeon > ECC > Quadro/ Firepro > RAID or for games :: an i5 or i7 "K" Overclocked > 1600+ > GTX /HD Radeon > SSD. then, for content creation, whether you're rendering, 3D CAD modeling, or running simulations specializes the hardware, and so on.
There is of course a generic middle ground system that can do everything, but being content with the performance is an equation only you can decide. If you are making renderings from 3D CAD models, that can use all the cores / threads available, so a dual CPU eight-core Xeon is the best idea, but for games, with few exceptions, those two $1,950 E5-2687W CPU's are wasted and as they are locked at 3.1/ 3.8GHz and will have a Quadro K5000 after it will not run Crysis 3 as well as an overclocked i7-3930K with a GTX 780.
Sorry to ramble in the abstract, but it's he complexity of these kinds of decisions.
On a more practical level, if you are using 2D , 3D CAD, and/or Adobe CS the E5-1620 would be my choice. if you're doing a lot of rendering, you could benefit from dual CPU six cores, but unless rendering is more than 10% of your use, for cost consideration, the four-cores /eight threads at 3.6 / 3.9GHz will be fine. It's striking how many applications are single-threaded- even Autodesk Inventor running mechanical / thermal / gas flow simulation- so for everything except rendering, the higher clock speed is more useful than core count. Anyway, I've discovered with rendering to make that the last work of the morning or evening and walk away and let renderings run during meals.
So, E5-1620 or if you're doing a lot of rendering, make that an E5-1650 (about $600), a good motherboard with X79 or better, Intel C602 chipse, and follow it with 16GB ECC 1600 and a Quadro K2000 or K4000. If you are doing only 2D work, you can get amazingly good results from older generation Quadros in the days of 2D. A Quadro FX 3800 or 4800 will run AutoCad 2D or Adobe CS as well as necessary and an FX 5800- which is a rare 512-bit card with 4GB RAM- was made for video editing.
You mention hardware to support multi-tasking and that is a function of the amount of RAM, not the CPU core count > unless you're including rendering. I also use a number of applications at once and my rule is > 2GB for OS, 2GB for every application, and 2GB spare. As I often run 5 or 6 programs > 2D CAD, 3D CAD / modeling, rendering, graphic design, wordprocessing, Win Explorer, Internet at once, plus files that can be quite large, I think of 16GB as minimum. Having a C602 board allows huge amounts of RAM- some support 512GB depending on speed and can be upgraded to E5-2600 150W eight-core CPU's. Keep in mind that ECC RAM is constantly making error-correction / parity checks and Quadros also have error correction and have drivers that finish each frame before moving, so these components will not make high frame rates in games.
Another factor today is USB 3.0 and as I am often transferring large- 10-25GB at a time to an external drive for backup, system images and the like, and USB 3 will be very welcome > a useful feature of the current Xeon E5 series. I have an elderly USB WD 160GB and these transfers currently run at about 25MB /s - endless. I have an old 8GB flash drive and because I never properly formatted it , those transfers are more in the 3-4MB/s range. A future with USB 3/0 looks much less depressing.
Of course, if content creation is farther down the list of priorities, the i7-3820 is also a good performer and has a very good cost performance ratio.
Here's a system list I made a few weeks ago >
BambiBoom PixelDozer Cadaedimathagrapharific ExtremeSignature VI ®£©™®$™_ 6.30.13
This system is intended as a workstation solution with high performance / high precision, very high stability / reliability at reasonable cost, and suitable for 2D and 3D CAD, graphic design, rendering, mathematics, simulation, animation, and video editing.
1. Xeon E5-1650 6-core 3.2 /3.8GHz, 12MB cache, LGA 2011 $630 (Passmark CPU score= 11462, rank = No. 12) > $590.
_1A. Intel Xeon Quad-Core Processor E5-1620 3.6GHz 5.0GT/s 10MB LGA 2011 CPU, OEM > $294 (Superbiz) (Passmark CPU score= 9199, rank = No. 38)
2. Noctua NH-U12S 120x120x25 ( NF-F12 PWM) SSO2-Bearing ( Self-stabilizing oil-pressure bearing ) CPU Cooler $70
3. ASUS P9X79 WS LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 SSI CEB > $380.
4. 16GB (2X 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ECC Unbuffered Server Memory >about $150. (Check ASUS motherboard compatibility list)
5. NVIDIA Quadro K2000 VCQK2000-PB 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card $420.
6. Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (RAID 1) > $90 (OS and Applications)
7. (2) Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (RAID 1) >$180 $90ea. (Files, Backup, System Image)
8. SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $120.
9. LIAN LI PC-A75 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case $182
10. ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $17.
11. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM $140
TOTAL = $2,043 with E5-1620 and $2,340 with E5-1650
Various economies to the above > CPU cooler, single HD or single storage drive, case, bargain OS. In the US it's possible to buy a good used Quadro 4000 for $350-400 and which would improve the 3D performance over the K2000.
Ways to spend more > Quadro K4000 instead of K2000, 32GB RAM
Are you by chance in the UK? If so, this system would be perhaps in the £1600-1800 range.
Again, this is an assumption of a very workstation-orientated system and would not necessarily be brilliant at high frame-rate / high settings gaming.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
[ Dell Precision T5400 (2008)> 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @3.16GHz > 16 GB ECC 667> Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB) > WD RE4 / Segt Brcda 500GB > Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit > HP 2711x 27" 1920 x 1080 > AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks, Sketchup Pro, Corel Technical Designer, Adobe CS MC, WordP Office, MS Office > architecture, industrial design, graphic design, rendering, writing ] [ Passmark rating is 1859 with CPU = 8528, 2D=517 , 3D=1097 ]
[HP z420 (new)> E5-1620 @ 3.6 /3.9GHz > Intel C602> 16GB ECC 1600 > Firepro V4900 (to become Quadro 4000 or 5000) > Seagate 500GB > Windows 7 Professional 64 bit > no applications yet loaded ] [I expect with Quadro 4000 a Passmark rating about 2900 with CPU = 9200, 2D=650 , 3D=1900 ]