Source
r/Twitch•
IndigoFD

As streamers which chip would you recommend Xeon or an I7?

Question

I apologize beforehand. I know this isn't r/buildapc. I want to pick the brains of people who stream regularly. My friend wants to start live streaming and I've been reading a lot trying to figure out what he wants/needs vs. what his limitations are. I've learned that an I5 is not strong enough to support quality streaming on its own and would need programs to supplement its lack thereof. People suggested the I7 but I don't know if it's worth it because he never intends to overclock. No one had suggested a Xeon processor in my previous posts which I believe has the power of a locked I5 while having the hyperthreading of an I7 if I read everything right. Which of the two will stay relevant in the years to come? As streamers which do you use and which would you recommend?

Posted May 11, 2016, 11:29 PM UTC

010
slimscsiEncoding/Playback Engineer•

Depends in the Xeon. If you are talking about an E3, I would go for the i7 (they are basically the same). If you are looking at an E5, that extra L2 cache is massively beneficial for encoding video.

2
IndigoFDOP•

I didn't know if the extra money would make a difference if he wasn't overclocking. I don't want to steer him towards something more expensive if he won't use it. Thank you.

1
KhaineGBtwitch.tv/khaineskorner•

If he doesn't intend to overclock, then it might be worth looking into the Xeon... IF you can get a cheap one used.

That's a big if, but you can probably get a 3-ish ghz, 8 cores/16 threads Xeon running DDR3 for about the same or cheaper than a 5820K. You just have to shop around and cross your fingers. :)

1
IndigoFDOP•

I was under the impression the 5820k was intended for heavy CAD and video editing and was comparing the 6700k and the Xeon E3-1240 V5. The 6700k + mobo at $450 and the xeon at $405.

Edit: Made a mistake with the prices.

1
KhaineGBtwitch.tv/khaineskorner•

They pretty much are.

But the thing is, OBS LOVES CPU cores... absolutely loves them. So an 8 core/16 threaded chip would make it very happy.

I use an older Xeon (X5650, LGA 1366 platform) for streaming and OBS loves it.

1
Marrocket•

I thought the thing is that Xeons don't have GPU integrated and can't use this Intel encoding is bad?

1
KhaineGBtwitch.tv/khaineskorner•

You're right, they don't. But that's not a problem.

The extra cores is great for OBS.

1
tubular1845•

You don't want to use QuickSync to encode unless you're recording.

1
thetacticaldonuttwitch.tv/thetacticaldonut•

Check out https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html When looking at these scores also click on the chip you like and take a look at 2 things to compare; Single Thread Rating and # of Samples.

1
IndigoFDOP•

Had a look. Thanks. Seems like the I7 is the clear winner.

1