Should I upgrade to i5-3570/i7-3770 or wait for a new build?

[bas7715]

I play games at 60FPS, it is possible for now with my present build. I'm looking for a quick upgrade to enable a little bit of streaming (occasionally).

My present configuration is this:
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060-3GB
SSD: Intel SSD Pro 1500 Series 180GB
HDD: WD Blue 500GB (2010) &
RAM: Corsair ValueSelect DDR3 1600 C11 2x4GB
MBD: Gigabyte GA-H61M-S1
PS: Corsair VS450
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper H410r
Display:LG 23MP47HQ IPS, 23" 60FPS Full-HD

I've got some deals with i5 3570 for 55 USD and i7-3770 for 125USD (used/). My plan is to upgrade the complete build after 2 years. Should I upgrade to i5/i7 now? Is there any advantage over spending over 70USD for choosing i7?

 

[Lutfij]

Do you plan on streaming while you're gaming? If so, then there's no point getting the i5 or the i7. If you're only playing and then streaming on individual scenarios, then you can get the i7, right now.

 

[boju]

i7 has Hyperthreading so that'll help with streaming and higher frame rates.

It'll be a decent upgrade over the i3. Keep in mind, toward 2020 you'll be reading much more on ddr5 platforms. Imo, where your money could go toward. A 3770 should keep you going until then quite decently.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

For streaming while gaming, yes. Hyper threading will save your life.
And you say that at current you get about 60fps with the 2100?
Obviously you play at low settings and are happy with this.
If you are happy with this, then the i7 will play the games and stream at 720p 30fps well enough with veryfast encoding preset and something like a 1500 bitrate.

Just don't load up a ton of crazy overlays into your stream since the more objects you add to your stream or the more complex the objects are, the more CPU power you need.

As it is, I have a Dell Optiplex 9010 that has a 3770 in it and I use it with a capture card as a dedicated stream PC and with the overlays I have that make it fancy, and while encoding at 720p 60fps at about 2500-3000 bitrate, my CPU usage goes up into the 80% range.

So gaming at the same time will require you to keep it simple and basic quality for the stream and your graphic settings on the lower side if you don't want to run into any bottlenecks that cause lag spikes or frame rate issues in games as well as not causing any issues with the stream itself such as dropping or skipping frames in the stream.

But if set everything up right and keep it settings low and simple, you should be able to achieve some entry level streaming on the machine with the i7-3770.

Then, when you go to buy a whole new system 2 years from now, you can keep this system as your stream PC and get a capture card.

OH, and make sure you update to the latest BIOS on your motherboard before hand so that it will support the 3rd gen i7.

 

[boju]

^Good pickup Simply.

Yes, have the latest bios before upgrading.

 

[bas7715]

I play games on low/medium settings. i7 is my first choice for the upgrade. I was contemplating whether to shell out that much money for a 2-year span.

For streaming while gaming, yes. Hyper threading will save your life.
And you say that at current you get about 60fps with the 2100?
Obviously you play at low settings and are happy with this.
If you are happy with this, then the i7 will play the games and stream at 720p 30fps well enough with veryfast encoding preset and something like a 1500 bitrate.

Just don't load up a ton of crazy overlays into your stream since the more objects you add to your stream or the more complex the objects are, the more CPU power you need.

As it is, I have a Dell Optiplex 9010 that has a 3770 in it and I use it with a capture card as a dedicated stream PC and with the overlays I have that make it fancy, and while encoding at 720p 60fps at about 2500-3000 bitrate, my CPU usage goes up into the 80% range.

So gaming at the same time will require you to keep it simple and basic quality for the stream and your graphic settings on the lower side if you don't want to run into any bottlenecks that cause lag spikes or frame rate issues in games as well as not causing any issues with the stream itself such as dropping or skipping frames in the stream.

But if set everything up right and keep it settings low and simple, you should be able to achieve some entry level streaming on the machine with the i7-3770.

Then, when you go to buy a whole new system 2 years from now, you can keep this system as your stream PC and get a capture card.

OH, and make sure you update to the latest BIOS on your motherboard before hand so that it will support the 3rd gen i7.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

it's worth it if you were to keep this system as a dedicated stream machine with a capture card.

Otherwise, if the performance you are getting now in games is fine to you, then you can just not stream until you get the upgraded PC.

But even then, with a newer more powerful system, streaming and gaming on the same machine is not easy for the hardware to do and you have to make sacrifices everywhere to make it work. Always.

That's why a dedicated stream machine is better to have since you don't have to share resources between both gaming and streaming.