Chessbase 13 running on machine with Skylake Core i7 Chipset

Hi Folks,

I recently purchased a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 machine that uses the new Skylake (6th generation Core i7) and runs Windows 10.  As a benchmark test for the computer, I ran Chessbase 13 in order to see how much faster the Speed Index was and how many more nodes per second it ran than my old machine (a MacBook Pro booted into Windows 7 with Bootcamp).  I was surprised to find that Chessbase 13 on the new machine only reported the 4 physical cores, so I could set the number of cores from 1-4.  It gave the fastest speed index (89) with 2 cores.  I was running no other processes while I did this test, insured by using the Task Manager.  This was consistent with my experience on all previous machines.

Here is the surprise.  My old MacBook Pro, booted into Windows 7 and running on a 4th generation intel Core i7,  showed 8 cores (I guess it recognizes the hyperthreading).  The best Speed Index came with selecting 4 (of 8) cores--i.e. two physical cores.  The value of the Speed Index was 111.  Also, the number of Kn/s examined was double for the old machine.

I fully expected my new machine to be much faster.  It isn't, at least measured in this way.  I put this question to Chessbase and they are looking into this now.  I wondered if anyone else has seen anything like this with the new Skylake chipsets, or if this is only true for my Surface Pro (I imagine this must spend some CPU power because it is a tablet/keyboard computer--although, I was using the keyboard with tablet enhancements turned off.

I would appreciate any and all feedback on this.  I will repost when I hear back from Chessbase folks.

All the best,

Don

Can I ask what difference it makes? 

What does a speed index of 111 do for you?  How long does a query take now?

Are you doing opening database queries or random position searches?  I imagine that would take longer.

Thanks for responding, notmtwain--or should I say notslc.  :-)

It makes a difference in how long a search to a given depth takes, this is mostly what I use Chessbase for, analysis.

I found out the explanation is that the Surface Pro uses a 2 core version of the new Skylake Core i7 chipset, instead of the 4 core/8 thread version the older chipset uses.  I didn't know this until I uncovered it in analysis--felt like a dummy!  I didn't know that Intel even made a Core i7 with only 2 cores and 4 threads.  Sigh ... 

I was told by my son--who knows more about computers than I do--that a normal quad core version of the Core I7 would be too hot and eat too much battery for mobile device like my SP4.

A speed index of 111 is very low for 8 cores, you should be in the 130s...

I would usually get around 111 when running only 6

How do I check the speed index of my computer? I have an i5-6500 but am considering upgrading to an i7-6700K. Thanks!

If you want a general idea of how powerful your processor is, look it up here:

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/

The i5-6500 has a rating of 7021, and the i7-6700K is 10988. Roughly, you can expect 55-60% faster performance for your $340 (what the site quotes as the price of the i7-6700K).

Or you can just call Adubi-Baja to +951 553 Europe, Asia, Oceania, America, Black magic (solve CPU problems) Mr. BlackdudeAdubi Baja +63456 6476 faster processor

Your higher windows operating system may cause it slower.Try for your old windows.Enhanced processor may not sufficient to compensate the heavier new operating system.

Oh great Adubi Baja, can I overclock my processor using a black magic cooling system?

This was generally the case in the past, but to Windows 10's credit, in both applications and gaming, its performance has shown to be about the same as Windows 7 and 8.1.

http://www.techspot.com/review/1042-windows-10-vs-windows-8-vs-windows-7/page3.html

http://www.techspot.com/review/1042-windows-10-vs-windows-8-vs-windows-7/page6.html

Perhaps any certain software will be executed slower than in old windows.For precise certainty,try to used old windows in new pc to executed the software.

You realize a brand new computer with less cores will be slower than an old computer with more cores for chess purposes, right?  The CPU speed wars have been over for years.  If you want more power, you buy a machine with more cores, not a machine with the latest CPU.

So would you then recommend to build a machine with some older Xeon processors (X5650, for example)?

I dont know why the hell do you want a super computer when there is an IM with an old computer that plays centaur chess and has a tremendous rating (pfren).

But anyways, if you want more power I think it really depends on the software and what do you want to do.

On a general basis cores are thought to be better for multi tasking while clock speed and less cores is thought to be better for doing one task at a time.

So it depends on Stockfish, does Stockfish support more than 4 cores? Does Stockfish asign each line being analyzed to another CPU or do all lines are analyzed in 1 CPU?

I guess Stockfish does support more than 4 cores and does asign a line to each CPU, so more cores should be better for you.

Im not sure about it so you may want to check their git hub page.

These particular old Xeons are nice because they can be overclocked.  You can get 12 cores @ ~4ghz which is pretty decent bang for the buck and would be better than any modern desktop CPU for chess purposes. Only problem is the motherboard to support the dual socket setup is still pretty expensive.

Stockfish supports 128 cores last time I checked, but doesn't scale well past 36.

The mobile version has half as many cores. Look at ark.intel.com to see the specifications. I have both of the CPUs, the 6th gen has a Speed Index of 133 for me, because it's a desktop CPU - the i7-6700K.

111 is the speed index for the non-K and mobile versions that I get; it's the CPU in my work computer, so I toggle between the two quite often. I also have a 4th-gen Intel CPU, mobile, and the speed index is only 96.

It's best not to use Chessbase as a benchmark. If you want a high Let's Check speed, close everything on your PC before starting Chessbase, overclock your PC, even if it's temporary, and start up an engine with nothing else running. This will get you the highest speed index.

So many people run Chessbase with their SI at 50% or 60% of where it should be, because they loaded it while doing other stuff, and Chessbase thought their PC was slower. This is a huge problem on newer PCs with more cores, where it slows speeds down to control temps. Chessbase doesn't really understand hyperthreading or anything, just GHz and core count.

In short: You're comparing apples and half-apples and thinking they're both apples.