diff --git a/dvc/cli.py b/dvc/cli.py
index f0a1556fb..f275f788b 100644
--- a/dvc/cli.py
+++ b/dvc/cli.py
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ def parse_args(argv=None):
     parent_cache_parser.add_argument('-j',
                         '--jobs',
                         type=int,
-                        default=cpu_count(),
+                        default=8*cpu_count(),
                         help='Number of jobs to run simultaneously.')
     parent_cache_parser.add_argument(
                         'targets',