Xeon 1231 V3 for streaming and editing/gaming?

[Rickafer]

Hey guys, had a question about which CPU to go with. I'm building a rig for gaming and streaming/ video editing. The Haswell i7 CPUs are a bit out of my price range, but the Xeon is only 240. Is this CPU able to handle gaming and streaming? Here is the build I've been working with so far:

 

[PCPartPicker part list]http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LX9FrH) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LX9FrH/by_merchant/)(

 

Type|Item|Price

:----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31231v3) | $239.99 @ SuperBiiz 

**Motherboard** | [ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h97mpro4) | $79.89 @ OutletPC 

**Memory** | [A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/a-data-memory-ax3u1866w4g10dr) | $58.99 @ Amazon 

**Storage** | [seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | $46.99 @ NCIX US 

**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp43975kr) | $315.04 @ Amazon 

**Case** | [Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-nse200kkn1) | $39.99 @ NCIX US 

**Power Supply** | [EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10500kr) | $29.99 @ NCIX US 

**Monitor** | [Acer S220HQLAbd 60Hz 21.5" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/acer-monitor-etws0hpa01) | $99.99 @ Amazon 

 | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |

 | Total (before mail-in rebates) | $920.87

 | Mail-in rebates | -$10.00

 | **Total** | **$910.87**

 | Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2015-04-20 00:28 EDT-0400 |

 

 

Thoughts?

[Enderman]

yes that CPU is perfect for that

[JRuss16]

looks good but get more then 8GB of RAM

[BurgerBum]

looks good but get more then 8GB of RAM

THISSSS

 

yeah, for gamers and just general prosumers 8 is fine. but once you start doing work.... 12, 16, or even 18 gigs of ram are a LIFE SAVER

[Rickafer]

THISSSS

 

yeah, for gamers and just general prosumers 8 is fine. but once you start doing work.... 12, 16, or even 18 gigs of ram are a LIFE SAVER

Oh cool, would 16GB be enough? Or should I splurge for 2 8GB sticks instead so  I can upgrade to 32GB later?

[Samfisher]

Do note you can't OC Xeons so you lsoe performance there, quite a bit actually since you can easily achieve 4.4GHz on most i5's and i7's these days.  What you lose in single-threaded performance you gain in cheaper pricing for multitasking like streams.

[Goose Legs]

Oh cool, would 16GB be enough? Or should I splurge for 2 8GB sticks instead so  I can upgrade to 32GB later?

 

Get the 2x 8GB sticks. 16GB might be enough for now, but the cost difference between the two kits (should be) minimal and when you realize even 16GB isn't enough, you won't have to throw away RAM.

[Rickafer]

Do note you can't OC Xeons so you lsoe performance there, quite a bit actually since you can easily achieve 4.4GHz on most i5's and i7's these days.  What you lose in single-threaded performance you gain in cheaper pricing for multitasking like streams.

Oh ok I see. I'm not too interested in overclocking really, I'm just looking for something that will have good multi tasking without sacrificing too much gaming performance.

 

Get the 2x 8GB sticks. 16GB might be enough for now, but the cost difference between the two kits (should be) minimal and when you realize even 16GB isn't enough, you won't have to throw away RAM.

Will do! 8GB supports dual channel as well right?

[Goose Legs]

Will do! 8GB supports dual channel as well right?

 

Dual channel is based on installing memory DIMMs in pairs. The actual capacity of the memory modules is irrelevant since they can be of any capacity, what matters is that each memory module is identical to the others.

[Rickafer]

Dual channel is based on installing memory DIMMs in pairs. The actual capacity of the memory modules is irrelevant since they can be of any capacity, what matters is that each memory module is identical to the others.

Oh gotcha, I'll go for the 8GB pair then, thanks!

[Cohacq]

You should get 2 8GB sticks so you still have room for another two sticks later. There is no performance benefit to use 4 4GB sticks in a non-LGA2011 board.

[Samfisher]

Oh ok I see. I'm not too interested in overclocking really, I'm just looking for something that will have good multi tasking without sacrificing too much gaming performance.

 

Will do! 8GB supports dual channel as well right?

 

Losing 1GHz from the inability to overclock is a pretty big performance deficit.