Upgrade i5-2500

[tucansam]

I have a trusty i5-2500 running unraid.  As I get more into dockers, it is becoming evident that it may be time to upgrade the CPU.  Comparing it to the Skylakes, for example the i5-6600, I've seen various posts around the internet claim everything from "The i5-6600 is 11% faster" to "The i5-6600 is 100% faster."

 

I understand CPU use is hugely subjective, but as an overall upgrade, what microarchitecture presently offers the best bang-for-buck?  I generally don't adopt the latest tech, I usually buy used stuff off fleabay that's a generation or two old.

 

I could step up to an i7-2600 for about $100, but that's still Sandy Bridge.  Or I could kick in a few more dollars and pick up another (newer) midrange i5, new MB, DDR4, etc.  Or I could just bite the bullet and finally get a Xeon.

 

Is Haswell a huge step up?  Broadwell?  Skylake?

 

Trying to weigh my options here.  Usual stuff, plex, sab, sonarr, and future plans for a Windows VM.

 

Thanks.

[ashman70]

So budget usually determines the possibilities here but if you think you are going to deploy more than one VM or support several Plex streams then I think it might be worth looking into a Xeon. You can pick  up older socket 1366 boards, CPU's and RAM for cheap on eBay or you can go new. Going new will offer more choices in terms of CPU but will cost you more. Are you at the point yet where you are stressing your CPU or just planning for the inevitable?

[tucansam]

Planning for the inevitable.  The i5 is humming along but a little more speed would help with a few things, and my old motherboard is getting long in the tooth.  Power consumption is an issue, kinda, between 24/7 operation and heat output.  

 

The newest 1366 is Westmere, which is a step below Sandy Bridge, architecture-wise.  I was looking at 2011 v1 stuff, but CPU + MB + RAM (if it requires ECC) is 4-5x more costly than popping in an i7 and calling it a day.  Just wondering if it would be a worthy upgrade at this point, or wait another year until Gen 6/5 stuff is cheaper still.

[ashman70]

Westmere's work just fine, I have a large server with dual hex core Westmere's and it works fine for what it does. You know better then any of us whether popping in an i7 will tide you over until next year but if that is where you are leaning, then sure, don't spend the money on older tech.

[tdallen]

The Core i5-2500 is a 4 core, non-hyperthreaded CPU operating at 3.3GHz and 6280 Passmarks.  The Core i7-2600 is a 4 core, hyperthreaded CPU at 3.4GHz and 8221 Passmarks.  Passmark is a good indicator of CPU performance but doesn't tell the full story around cores/threads - some operations like having additional cores or hyperthreaded cores (for instance, VMs).  Passmark also only partially reflects the impact of clock rate - some operations benefit from having a CPU with a faster clock rate (typically single threaded operations).

 

So, you have a CPU with 4 full cores.  That's pretty good but most Core i7s and E3 Xeons have hyperthreading so you get 4 cores and 4 additional hyperthreaded cores.  Your current CPU runs at 3.3GHz which is pretty fast.  It gets 6280 Passmarks, which was good at the time but is pretty middle of the road these days.  If you decide you need to upgrade, I'd go to Core i7 or Xeon for the additional hyperthreaded cores.  I am guessing you will be happiest if you stay with CPUs that have high clock speeds, you'll notice that for faster single task performance.  Last, I'd try to get at least a 20% increase in Passmarks - less that that really won't be very noticeable.

 

The Core i7-2600 would be a good stopgap if you aren't ready for the bigger upgrade.