(a disclosure)

This text is written in a way so that anyone (even novice people) reading it can here get/make highest badges he/she wants. So lets start at the beginning:
- badges are rewarded for CPU time in WCG...so more CPUs or cores on CPU you have - more WU will you process in same time...also, some older P4 CPU & newer processors with HT can use "virtual cores" & virtually double the amount of cores CPU has...
example:
single CPU does 99% work in 24h...or about 23h 45min 36sec...
dual-core CPU (with same architecture & speed [MHz], even though that's not real-time possibility) does 99% work in 24h, but with 2 cores...it makes double time of 47h 31min 12sec...
dual-core CPU with HT does 4 WU simultaneously, so it doubles that time to total of 95h 2min 24sec...
etc.
so all you have to do to make highest badges is have a processor with highest amount of cores in it!
right?!

well, no so...there is also another option, which WCG & every other grid computing expert here will like to HIDE from you:
- if you don't care about other things (like points, number of returned results, RACs, etc.), then you can also do something else to get you most badges you want to have...& you wouldn't believe it when it's written, but it's: buy yourself the "slowest in MHz version of CPU with maximum amount of cores & preferably HT technology" for your motherboard!
why is that?
well, as it turn out, with that processor you are going to take as much WU as it can to work on them & speed is not important...just make sure that you want to finish those WUs before deadline!
why would that suit you?
well, as it turns out...some science are allocated (to WCG) as previous are delivered back (to researchers)...especially in FAHB project, but also in other projects with a large amount of information that can't fit WCG (or any other) servers...so the more slowly you progress your WUs, the more slowly will science progress also go on WCG...& (slowly) the end date for science is prolonged & prolonged...
do you have to buy slow processors?
well, no...you can also throttle down your processor with some programs, which some of us older guys here have been suggesting to run on laptops - so you will ger more stable system, less fan noise (if it's a temperature controlled), less heat emanating to computer rom, etc...but you can also slow down your CPU in Power options in Windows, Linux or MacOS...making it slower also for the WCG & prolonging a project WU completion...& if you implement that tactics compared to 105.000+ CPU days average on WCG, you can gave a great or less great impact on the grid itself - depending, of course, on the number of CPU days that your grid makes here (or in any other BOINC project)...
how is that information relevant?
well, you don't have to spend TOO MUCH money on fastest processor, when there is a minimum version laying cheaply on the table for a few $...
also, less MHz you have or slower version of CPU you have, less power hungry processor will be...so the electric bill will be smaller!

for example:
in my case I've got recently a X3360 for one board that I've got which costs about $65 + shipping, but I could have easily go for X3350 which is about $20 cheaper & same architecture with 12MB of L2 cache...

hopefully, this text has saved you some bucks (if you're not in points & number of returned results, RACs, etc. & want only badges)...but a math is clear, cheaper is better for you if you want to have more badges here!

hey, but any school is costly...I'm just sharing with what I've learned till now!