seeing as we have gone way off topic ...

<--- definately not normal ... I am buying components this afternoon to build an i7 cruncher to join my main rig (also an i7) in my quest for more badges, points, and results.

Scientists, Techs, CAs FTW

<---

Hi Movieman,
Thanks for your input and expressing your opinions.

I have been reading about the gainstowns for some months and I look forward to its release, but in the same way a car enthusiast would look out for the latest Ferrari as opposed to rush out and buy one.

It will be commonly known as the i9, and is due out in less than 6months - finally!
It will have 12 threads, so after a month of crunching you could get a Green badge for a years crunching?!?
The only thing faster than these systems could be the rate of leavers on experiencing the frailty of the badge collection system:
Fast-Buck-Red gets 7 badges in 2 weeks and penniless-Jane pops up with one after a labour of months of normal PC use.
There is no doubt that for productivity the i9 will be a flier:
The 32nanometre chip will mean the 2 extra cores, over the quads, will not result in extra heat.
It will also use the new and better Westmere architecture = faster.
Lastly, it will also clock! Try getting an i7 to 4.6GHz on air. http://kingpincooling.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131
Of course most people, and probably me, will not be able to afford this CPU. I expect it will be released at $1000, APU, but it could be higher. A CPU like this is not going to be under $500 for perhaps 2 years, and the 1366 motherboards are expensive too. So if you are thinking about one of these, you will also need to think about a top PSU, a descent graphic card and perhaps a 1920x1080 display...
I am not knocking the i7, or Intel. They presently make the best top end workstation & gaming CPUs and deserve respect for that. They have / will be bringing out more reasonably priced i5s and i7s.
It is the WCGs approach to the badge system that is skewed. Although the i7 can use 8 threads, the performance when using 8 threads is actually about 13% better, not 100%. I think this is an issue that should be addressed. Why should Boinc perceive threads as additional CPUs when they are not cores? Its like cheating or lying.
A poor precedence to set, especially given that the i7 860 (Codenamed Lynnfield, SKT 1156) will probably not perform nearly as well when it comes to threading – no X58 chipset there! I dont have one so I am not in a position to test it with threading on and off for WCG, the only way to really tell, but threading has been reported to cause significant game deterioration when on!
It is sad to see people being rewarded twice for doing 13% more work, it reminds me of tax breaks for the very rich. This percentage might be much less for the i7 860 and its users could perhaps even be doubly rewarded for doing less work!

Buy an Intel and we will double your badges?!?

Dont think this issue will end there, it wont, it is just re-emerging but with backup this time. These are not the only such double threaded cores scheduled to be released. By the time we get to 16 cores, 32 threads the haves will be getting badges every other day and the have not’s will watch the bar slowly rise and pull away from their meagre systems scope.

The badge system actually goes on the time a thread is running. So double the threads, double the time. Not good if a thread only gives you a 13% increase and not 100%
So if you dont give the extra 87% away for free, it will make lesser systems look better (and reflect actual achievements more accurately).

Would like to see i7 860 HT v i7 860 without HT running Boinc.

My 2 pence worth!

I fail to see why this thread is of any importance at all?, I crunched before there were Any badges... I crunched when there was only Bronze, Silver, Gold... And I crunch now that there is Ruby Emereld & Sapphire as well. And before I joined WCG, I also crunched on Grid.org, before they went down and they only had points.

Yes, I do agree that, on a personal level, it is nice for me to look at the badges I have obtained and I go for higher colours in full knowledge that it is helping that particular peice of research to finish, but thats it, thats all, other than that I really couldn't give two hoots about Points or Badges.

Maybe I've missed the point, but all I'm really interested in is trying to ensure that other people don't have to die premeturley and in untold amounts of pain from Aids & Cancer, as so many of my friends and family have, and if there comes a time when I am able to buy a 6000 core system, HT'ed to 12,000 cores, then I will and I will know that a cure will come even quicker.

I crunch because I want to, as does (I would assume), everyone else and I bring fourth any and all systems I can that will make a difference and if I make it to Blue in 5 weeks then great, fantastic.... If I make Blue in 5 years then equally great, fantastic, my ability to get badges makes no real difference to me one way or the other.

Remember, this whole discussion is all about a coloured square somewhere in Cyberspace, there are just soo many more improtant things to worry about then who gets what colour, when and with what system.

D.