How to Choose the Best PC Gaming Streaming Hardware.
PC gaming streaming is a great way to connect with your friends, play competitively and show off your gaming skills. If you’re serious about streaming, you’ll want to make sure you have the right hardware in order to make the most of your experience. Streaming isn’t as simple as firing up your PC and starting the stream, you’ll need to consider everything from graphics cards to capture cards in order to achieve the best possible result. In this blog, we’ll look at some of the essential hardware you’ll need to get started with PC gaming streaming.
Graphics Card
The first thing you’ll need to consider when choosing a PC for gaming streaming is the graphics card. This is the most important piece of hardware for any gaming PC, and for streaming it needs to be powerful enough to handle the extra load of encoding the video and audio for the stream. As such, you’ll want to ensure that the graphics card you choose is up to the task. High-end models like Nvidia’s GTX 1080 or AMD’s Radeon RX580 are great for gaming and streaming at high quality.
If you’re planning on streaming video games at a resolution above 1080p or at high frame rates, then you’ll need an even more powerful graphics card. Both Nvidia and AMD offer a range of graphics cards aimed more at professional streamers, such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or the AMD Radeon VII. Note that these cards come with a hefty price tag, and you’ll want to make sure you have the spare cash to invest in them if you’re looking to stream the best possible video game experience.
In addition to a powerful graphics card, you’ll also need a good CPU in order to power your PC for gaming streaming. As a streamer, you’ll likely be using multiple programs at the same time. This will put extra strain on the CPU, and you’ll need to make sure that you have a processor that can handle the extra load. Intel’s 8th and 9th-generation CPUs offer good performance, with models such as the Core i7 8700K being especially good. It’s worth noting that AMD also offers excellent processors for streaming, such as the Ryzen 7 2700X.
Capture Card
If you’re looking to broadcast your gaming session in its full glory, then you’ll need a capture card. This is a piece of hardware that allows you to capture and record a video of your gameplay from your console or other device. If you’re playing on the PC, then you can generally get away without using a capture card as most streaming software is able to capture direct from the desktop. However, if you’re playing on consoles then you’ll need one. Capture cards are available in both internal and external varieties, and come in models for both PC and MAC.
Streaming Software
Last, but not least, you’ll need to choose the right streaming software. This is the program that will allow you to broadcast your game session online. There are plenty of streaming programs available, such as OBS Studio, XSplit, and Streamlabs OBS. Each of these programs offers different features and functions, so it’s worth doing some research to find out which one will suit your streaming needs best.
Conclusion
PC gaming streaming is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s important to make sure that you have the right hardware in order to make the most of your streaming experience. From graphics cards to streaming software, there are plenty of components to consider when building a PC for gaming streaming. Hopefully, this article has provided a good overview of the hardware you’ll need in order to get started. Good luck, and happy streaming!
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