On 10/11/2015 21:07, Stanislav Nikolov wrote: > > > On 11/10/2015 08:55 PM, Alan McKinnon wrote: >> On 10/11/2015 20:37, Stanislav Nikolov wrote: >>> >>> On 11/10/2015 08:17 PM, Mick wrote: >>>> On Tuesday 10 Nov 2015 17:47:08 Stanislav Nikolov wrote: >>>>> Dear Gentoo users, >>>>> I'm building a new PC. I have a budget of ~$550-$650. No GPU, no special >>>>> case (I may use a card box), not even a hdd or ssd. So, as you can see, >>>>> it's pretty much "get the best CPU and mobo/ram that are compatible with >>>>> it". The problem is, which is the best one. By "best" I mean to compile >>>>> shit fast. My laptop with 3rd gen i5 compiles firefox for 40 minutes on >>>>> average. >>>>> >>>>> The most expensive Intel CPU is the skylake i7-6700k. But is it the best? >>>>> Is there something from AMD that will perform even better? I can't find >>>>> any benchmarks with AMD/Intel CPUs. And how much does the mobo matter? >>>>> Will a cheap $30 400W PSU power that thing? >>>>> >>>>> Thanks >>>> I don't (yet) own a i7-6700k, but my 6 year old laptop with (1st >>>> generation) >>>> i7 Q720 @1.60GHz takes slightly less than yours: >>>> >>>> Sat Oct 3 14:35:40 2015 >>> www-client/firefox-38.3.0 >>>> merge time: 36 minutes and 53 seconds. >>>> >>>> Fri Nov 6 09:10:06 2015 >>> www-client/firefox-38.4.0 >>>> merge time: 38 minutes and 8 seconds. >>>> >>>> >>>> In contrast a year old AMD A10-7850K APU is significantly faster: >>>> >>>> Sat Oct 3 19:40:48 2015 >>> www-client/firefox-38.3.0 >>>> merge time: 17 minutes and 42 seconds. >>>> >>>> Fri Nov 6 08:41:02 2015 >>> www-client/firefox-38.4.0 >>>> merge time: 18 minutes and 18 seconds. >>>> >>>> >>>> I would also be interested to see compile times of more modern i7s and >>>> FXs, >>>> but bear in mind that in single core operations Intel is these days >>>> significantly better than AMD. >>>> >>> So, I shouldn't prepare for a 8x times faster compile time... :( >>> >> >> >> I can't help but think you are approaching this from the wrong perspective. >> >> Why exactly are you using compile times as your sole criterion? Are you >> building a compile farm for Ubuntu? Running continuous integration tests >> for LibreOffice [on a $600 budget in a cardboard box :-) ]? >> >> Or do you want emerge world to get it over with quicker? >> >> If the latter, you better rethink your priorities. In computing terms, >> compilation is a rare event; launching apps is a common event; and >> writing to the disk happens all the time. Optimize for the common case. >> >> A CPU never works in isolation, it is always part of a much larger >> system, like disks, RAM and all possible kinds of I/O. The best CPU on >> the market plugged into a POS motherboard will perform on emerge world >> like a piece of shit - it will follow the weakest link. >> >> If you want to build a compiling machine, buy the best collection of >> stuff that works together well and still fits the budget. If you want a >> machine that you can use and be happy with, ignoree the temptation to >> must have the biggest baddest fastest CU (you will never get to use all >> that big bad fast) and invest rather in gobs of RAM and an SSD. Remember >> that apps are launched many times more than they are compiled. Or put >> another way, sacrifice compilation times t get something you can use. > > 8GB of RAM are waaay more than I use daily (several firefox tabs, nvim = 2Gb > max), I have a pretty fast SSD too. Even buying 8GB RAM and a brand new SSD, > I have > $450 left. Can I buy a AMD CPU that will get the job done faster > than 6700k and/or cheaper? >
That changes things. It wasn't obvious you already had RAM & SSD & stuff. I'd first make sure I have a decent PSU - none of that crap puny el-cheapo $300 shit (search list archives for 1000s of posts about dodgy PSUs). Then split the difference between 8G RAM, a good CPU and an excellent motherboard. You will use that extra RAM, and a motherboard that ties all the bits together properly is much more cost-effective than raw CPU grunt alone. -- Alan McKinnon alan.mckin...@gmail.com
