Question / Help Cores VS Clockspeed for streaming only ?

[Jake Morton]

What is better for just streaming ? i dont play pc games so dont care bout gaming performance, just streaming

 

[Harold]

For streaming, due to the nature of the encoders used, overall aggregate processor speed is more important than per-core speed or number of cores.

x264 does have some limitations to performance once you get above a certain number of cores.

 

[Jake Morton]

so what your saying is multiply the ghz by the number of cores and the higher that number the better ? for example a 6 core 3ghz = 18ghz would be better than a 4 core 4ghz = 16ghz ?

 

[Boildown]

For single-digit core counts that's probably close to correct.

 

[Jake Morton]

so in that case the amd fx 9590 with 8 cores 5ghz = 40ghz, is probably the best option ?

 

[Harold]

Except that particular AMD chip isn't a true 8 core. That architecture uses half-cores.
They got into some pretty deep shit over it.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/07/amd-processor-core-class-action-lawsuit/

 

[Jake Morton]

well even at 4 cores thats still 20ghz, an i7 extreme is about a billion times more expensive and 6 core 3.8ghz is still only 23ghz, so if this aggregate speed thing is correct then the 9590 is still by far the best for under i7x type prices

 

[Boildown]

I guess I should specify that my rule of thumb, "For single-digit core counts that's probably close to correct." is only valid if everything else is equal. You can't compare AMD cores to Intel cores or Sandy Bridge cores to Skylake cores.

 

[Boildown]

well even at 4 cores thats still 20ghz, an i7 extreme is about a billion times more expensive and 6 core 3.8ghz is still only 23ghz, so if this aggregate speed thing is correct then the 9590 is still by far the best for under i7x type prices

No. The IPC for each AMD core is far far less than each Intel core. You can't make this analysis for different core types, only within a single family of cores can you do your multiplication and have it be valid. And the hyperthreading should be the same on both sides too, you can't say that an i5 (quad core) running at the same clockspeed is the same thing as an i7 (quad core with hyperthreading).

If you're looking for a free lunch, you won't find it with AMD. Avoid AMD to be honest, they're not the best value nor best performance.

 

[Boildown]

If you want to build a high powered streaming PC for cheap, check this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/47bzdc/budget_friendly_secondary_streaming_pc_guide

Your challenge will be to find a good motherboard, but if you can manage that, then you won't find a better value.