Threadripper vs AM4 for Streaming PC

[julian.benz87]

Hi,

I'm currently considering buying a second PC for streaming.
Unfortunately, my budget wont allow for a perfect TR 1950x/I9 Solution, so i want to start with a good base workstation und upgrade my way from there.

I'm unsure wether it would make more sense, to just go with the current am4 socket ryzen 7 2700x, or go with a Threadripper 1900x.

From an Encoding perspective, the Ryzen 7 2700x should be pretty much on par with a TR 1900x, from my understanding. My line of thinking here is, that with a TR socket, I should be able to upgrade to either a next gen TR or get a 1950x later down the line.

My question here: is the upgradability worth the extra price point for the TR motherboards, or should i just stick with the am4, since that socket is also continued till 2020 and might offer similar encoding solutions later down the line?
Are there any other options I'm not considering?

Thank you!

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Actually, the 2700X is going to be faster than the 1900x in all applications. That said, upgrading on the TR platform would lead to superior chips. That said, if you are seriously considering the Threadripper platform, I'd wait till next month when the 2nd gen Threadrippers launch. If you are buying today the 2700X will give you the best performance for the money. If I were you, I'd wait to see what the new TR platform offers. Also, with the new launch there may be good deals on the 1st gen TR parts.

 

[julian.benz87]

Thank you for your quick answer!

If i decide to go with a TR4 platform, then waiting for the release of the next gen is probably a good call, especially since going down the TR line will pretty much tie me to the future development of the TR series.

What would be a reasonable estimation for the 3rd gen ryzen's core count? Is there still significant upgrade potential in the AM4 socket later down the line, in your estimation?

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Thank you for your quick answer!

If i decide to go with a TR4 platform, then waiting for the release of the next gen is probably a good call, especially since going down the TR line will pretty much tie me to the future development of the TR series.

What would be a reasonable estimation for the 3rd gen ryzen's core count? Is there still significant upgrade potential in the AM4 socket later down the line, in your estimation?

I expect the Zen 2 architecture to be the same core counts, but with some good improvements to instructions per cycle and clock speeds. Right now we are on the Zen+ which has refined the 1st gen Ryzen fairly well. Expect even better out of the next gen, but I wouldn't expect more cores. Then again, the people that need more than 8 cores and 16 threads should just keep eyeing Threadripper.

Mainly the core expectations are tied to the number of CCX modules that are on a chip. The max per silicone die right now is 2 CCXs, which is 8 cores. I don't expect Zen 2 to change that. TR has multiple dies on the chip package, like the server chips, and that is how they get up to 32 cores on a CPU.

 

[profoundnoah]

What is your primary PC running? Personally, the thread ripper platform really isn't worth investing in for streaming, as the 2700X is already VERY STRONG. Just pray that you don't receive a defective chip outside of the Amazon Return window like I did

While TR might look very promising at first, you'd be spending a near additional $400 on an X399 board, and do note that the 1900X doesn't come with a stock cooler, so that will also add to the cost if you want any sort of reasonable temps. The 2700X comes with a very capable stock cooler, so that's less to worry about for your use case.

 

[julian.benz87]

awesome, thanks for the in depth answer!

Guess now its up to me to decide wether the ryzen will suit my semi professional needs for the next few years I guess.

Im currently running an i5 8600k at 4,8 ghz with a gtx 1060, so nothing to special here, but sufficient for 1080p gaming

 

[madmatt30]

The 2700x is an absolute monster of a cpu .

You've not really stated your exact use but bear in mind before TR (& Ryzen arrived) you would have been paying intel around $1700 for a comparable board , cpu & ram setup.

I've run dual 4k renders & played BF1 online simultaneously & still only seen 85% max usage on a Ryzen 1700 with 2666mhz ram.

A 2700x with 3000-3600mhz ram is substantially stronger than my setup.

 

[julian.benz87]

My exact use for this second pc would be to transmit a NDI signal from the gaming PC to the second streaming PC, an then encode that in OBS to 1080p 60 fps and stream to twitch.

I'm sure the ryzen will be able to pull this off just fine at whatever preset i can get it to work without dropping or buffering frames.
Im just unsure wether its a good idea to go with a platform, that (as i now know) limits itself to 8 cores, when i know OBS scales really well of multiple cores.
Then again, ive been using Nvenc so far, so the quality improvements should be drastic either way.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

My exact use for this second pc would be to transmit a NDI signal from the gaming PC to the second streaming PC, an then encode that in OBS to 1080p 60 fps and stream to twitch.

I'm sure the ryzen will be able to pull this off just fine at whatever preset i can get it to work without dropping or buffering frames.
Im just unsure wether its a good idea to go with a platform, that (as i now know) limits itself to 8 cores, when i know OBS scales really well of multiple cores.
Then again, ive been using Nvenc so far, so the quality improvements should be drastic either way.

Well, it doesn't take THAT much power to stream. The sweet spot for no compromise gaming and streaming is 6 cores and 12 threads right now. Most games are only going to take advantage of 4 cores and MAYBE the multi-threading on those 4 cores. The additional 2 cores and 4 threads are used for encoding for streaming. So, in most cases streamers will be really happy with something like a 2600x. The 2700x adds 2 more multi-threaded cores on top of the 6 cores and 12 threads that the 2600x offer, which in most cases goes unused. CPUs like the 2600x and 2700x make needing an additional streaming box unnecessary. You can do get great gaming performance and quality streams out of one box.

People get Threadrippers for really heavy video editing loads, tons of PCI-E lanes, mammoth amounts of RAM, and extremely parallel workloads. The 1900x is a good chip, but it is essentially a 1800x with the PCI-E and RAM advantages. The 2700x is more powerful than the 1800x or 1900x, but does have lower limits on PCI-E connectivity and RAM capacity. What the 2700x does well is single core workloads much faster than any Threadripper, which allows its 8 cores to nearly match CPUs with more cores. Now, that isn't to say that the 1900x is a bad CPU. It is very capable, but the 2700x is just faster. We have no idea if there will be a 2900x or what performance that the 2900x might have. It could just be a 2700x in a TR socket with all the TR advantages. It is kind of an unknown at this point. That is why I suggested waiting, but if you are worried about the power of these 8 core chips, don't. They are amazingly capable CPUs.

If you have the money to spend, Threadripper chips are great for productivity. If you want to save a little money, still have great gaming and great streaming performance, and can accept that 8 cores and 16 threads are still more than most people will need in the near future, then the 2700x is the way to go. It is going to be a long while before games are made that can take advantage of 8 cores. You'll have more than enough power for years.

 

[julian.benz87]

Thanks for your patient, in depth answers guys, I think ill stick with the ryzen for now, and rather invest the excess money into a GPU upgrade on the gaming pc later down the line, the 2700 should give me ample room and there are some really good deals going on atm.