Question / Help Which CPU? i5-3570k or i7-3770k

[Iriodus]

Between my birthday and Christmas I have enough money to get a new CPU, I decided that I may as well get the best CPU available for my Intel board (LGA 1155 socket), so that leaves me with 2 CPUs to choose from: i5-3570k or i7-3770k. For reference: I would be upgrading from the i5-3450 (non-K), which has served me well, but has started to become a noticable bottleneck when streaming (Especially with Fallout 4).

I am unsure which to go with, so I wanted the opinion of those on the OBS forum, as I do stream, and part of the reason for the upgrade is to improve my stream. If I wasn't a streamer I would go for the i5, as the adage "i7s are not worth it if all you are using your PC for is gaming" still seems to hold true from what I can gather (games still don't use threads effectively), but I was unable to find a clear answer on how useful an i7 would be for streaming. I have seen threads, here and elsewhere, recommending i7s for streaming, but no real data to back up why. I am aware that OBS will make use of the extra threads, but is unclear if the extra threads will truly be worth it.

Is there going to be any noticeable difference between the 2 CPUs from a streaming standpoint? If anyone here has used both of the above CPUs for streaming, or has used an i5 and then upgraded to its i7 equivalent, and has any insight into my conundrum I would appreciate it. If I do get the i5-3570k, then I'd put the money towards something else, like a new keyboard and/or a green screen.

 

[Cryonic]

i7 is faster for streaming, in games you will see no difference.
Games dont use more than 4 threads so far (so 4 cores are enough), but streaming scales great with cores and SMT (thats the main difference between i5 & i7).
If you can spend the extra cash on the i7 - do it.

I can tell you that the i5 will limit you at 720p, while i7 will give you the option to use 1080p resolution without limiting your game.

 

[Iriodus]

If OBS scales well with the extra threads, that is all I really need to know, I just wish there was actual data to back that up is all (In relation to OBS).

Well, I play at 1080p already and downscale to 540p, due to my upload (2.5mbps, my bitrate is 1250/1550), but it is good to know how much more I can do. I'll likely change the CPU preset to a slower one to improve the quality a bit.

 

[Cryonic]

Yep, it should be possible to get the medium preset with 540p or 720p with fast or faster, that will greatly improve the video quality with the lower resolution and bitrate. This depends on what you stream, your overclocking (if used, since you want a k-CPU) and stuff that is running in the background.

 

[Iriodus]

Well, my setup is very optimized, everything is configured to make my gaming experience as smooth as possible, and I only have what is necessary running in the background. I probably won't bother with 720p as I would rather have a consistent stream quality, and feel that the 720p/30fps/2000 bitrate "golden point" is ill-advised in most cases (2000 is kinda on the low end for streaming at 720p and 30fps from what I've read).

Well, a few years ago I would never have considered overclocking, I didn't want to risk hosing my CPU as I likely could not afford a replacement any time soon. Now I think that doing a modest overclock would be fine, I would probably only go as high as the max turbo boost ratio for the CPU, while turning off turbo boost.

 

[Cryonic]

Overclocking has become pretty safe, if you dont do crazy stuff. It can shorten the lifespan, but most people replace the hardware long before it degrades.
You can go even higher, depends on the temp and your system overall.
Thats up to you. 10% is what is possible without spending a lot of money or actually replacing the thermal interface material under the heatsink.

720p 30FPS 2000 bitrate is watchable, thats what is recommended by many people for "new" streamers. For low action games it is actually fine.
For fast shooter games etc you want more, but once again people will tear me apart here for recommending up to 3500bitrate on twitch and way more on other sites.