Can a cheap i5 produce the same quality 4k movies as a high end i9?

[tanjackson]

Let say all the components are exactly the same: 32gb ram, M.2, same GPU, MB.

[Levent]

yes, quality doesnt change, time it takes to produce the same result will.

[YoungBlade]

Assuming you're referring to a render being output from some editing software, then yes, the output will be identical, even if it's a lot slower.

 

If you are referring to live video encoding, using software encoding in something like OBS, then the result could be different if the i5 can't keep up. You may also be able to use a higher quality setting with the i9 over the i5, which could result in better output as well.

 

But generally, if you're doing something like livestreaming or recording for a let's play, you would want to use the GPU or iGPU to do hardware encoding, rather than software encoding, as it's more efficient, less likely to cause system issues like stutters, and still looks about the same in the end.

[Issac Zachary]

It depends on what you mean by "produce same quality 4k movies".

• If you mean playback, I'd expect it to be the same. Even an older i3 or Pentium or even Celeron processor can do that.
• If you mean software rendering, then it takes more time with the i5 than the i7 or i9.
• If that's software rendering on the go, then the i7 or i9 will have the ability to produce better quality, and there's a chance the i5 might not keep up.
• If you're hardware rendering on the GPU, it may not matter that much what CPU you have.

[PDifolco]

Quality will be the same, and a 14600K will not be that slower to render them than a 12900...

"cheap i5" isn't really a thing anymore, there are powerful i5 as well