The Best PC Gaming Streaming Equipment: All You Need to Know.
Gone are the days when streaming PC gaming online meant settling for low-quality imagery and audio. Thanks to advances in gaming streaming equipment that facilitate crystal-clear, real-time gaming experiences, gamers can now turn their home set-up into an engaging professional streaming studio.
Whether you want to take your esports career to the next level or just want to show off your gaming skills to the world, investing in the right streaming equipment is a must. After all, streamers need reliable internet connection and the right tools to achieve top-notch visuals and sound.
This blog post covers the best PC gaming streaming equipment so you can make the most out of your gaming evenings and take your streaming career to new heights. Let’s get started!
The Essential PC Gaming Streaming Equipment
First, let’s cover the essential PC gaming streaming equipment that every PC gamer should have. This includes the latest components and peripherals for achieving the highest image and sound quality, plus any other software that’s necessary for making the most of any PC gaming session.
High-end Gaming PC
What matters most in any PC gaming set-up is the gaming PC. While your average gaming laptop or gaming desktop provides enough power to run popular titles at 1080p resolution, you’ll need a premium gaming PC to go beyond.
Look for a processor with 6 or more cores and the latest graphics card to stream at higher resolutions without suffering any lag or stuttering. For less demanding titles, consider a mid-range processor such as the Intel CoreTM i5-10400 with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Graphics Card. It’s fast enough for streaming at 1080p60 with HDR enabled.
High Quality Capture Card
In order to show off your gaming skills over the internet, you’ll need a capture card such as the Elgato 4K60 Pro. This capture card records playbacks at 4K resolution with a maximum frame rate of up to 60fps while maintaining HDR 10 quality.
You can also use this card to make high-quality streams over Twitch, YouTube or any other streaming platform. All you need to do is plug in the card, feed in a video signal (up to 4K HDR) and start recording or streaming right away.
High-detail Audio Capture
Having a great microphone is essential if you want to deliver a clear and audible sound during your streams. That’s why you should invest in a high-quality gaming headset.
Check out the Astro A50 gaming headset. It features advanced noise-cancellation technology and studio-quality audio for a glitch-free sound that won’t distort during streaming sessions.
Lighting Equipment
If you’re serious about streaming, you’ll need to take your production quality up a notch by investing in good lighting equipment.
The Elgato Key Light is a great option for streamers who want to look their best on camera. This lighting panel is programmable, extremely bright and comes with adjustable color temperature, so you can customize your lighting exactly how you want.
Green Screen
Having a green screen on your gaming set-up helps you add special effects to your streams. The Elgato Green Screen Collapsible Chroma Key Panel is an excellent choice. It’s easy to set up and won’t take up a lot of space in your room.
Streaming Software
Finally, you’ll need the right streaming software to deliver a seamless gaming experience to your viewers. OBS Studio is a popular streaming software among professionals, as it provides Overlay capabilities, support for different kinds of input sources, and advanced video editing features.
For more flexibility in streaming, consider XSplit, a cloud-based streaming program that allows you to link multiple sources, create custom scenes, and record with multiple resolutions and quality levels.
Additional PC Gaming Streaming Equipment
Besides the above, there are some other helpful PC gaming streaming equipment you can buy to take your streams to the next level.
Webcam
Adding a webcam to your streaming set-up is a must. A webcam can enhance your setup by allowing viewers to watch you with real-time facial expressions, which adds a more engaging experience for your viewers. The Razer Kiyo ($99.99) is a great option and comes equipped with a ring light that creates a bright, evenly illuminated image and 1080p resolution.
Controller or Joystick
If you want to capture your game controller while streaming, go for the Razer Ripsaw ($199.99). It’s equipped with 4K recording pass-through that allows you to capture and stream with full HD resolution, while a USB 3.0 port ensures fast connection to your PC.
Stream Deck
The Stream Deck ($179.95) allows you to easily switch between scenes and control audio, lights, and other aspects of your stream at the press of a button. This is incredibly helpful for quickly switching back and forth between scenes, so you don’t have to fumble around under the hood.
5 Tips for Optimizing PC Gaming Streaming Equipment
There are a few simple tips you can use to make the most of your streaming equipment and optimize your experience for a better stream quality.
1. Position Your Webcam and Lights in the Right Spot
For the best audio and video quality, you’ll need to position your webcam and lights correctly. Make sure the ambient light isn’t too bright or too dim. You don’t want any glare or reflection in your images, either.
2. Calibrate FPS and Resolution
Calibrating the frames per second (FPS) and resolution can help optimize your stream quality. Lowering the FPS will result in smoother pictures, while higher FPS will lead to a sharper image. You’ll need to experiment to find the right balance.
3. Set Up Cloud Storage
Cloud-based streaming can help reduce the consequences of dropped connections and minimize the risk of losing your footage. You can use a service like Dropbox or Microsoft Azure to store your videos and ensure you don’t miss out on any great footage.
4. Use Video Editing Software
If you’re serious about streaming, invest in some video editing software. This will help you create engaging intros and outros plus splice your footage for YouTube or Vimeo previews.
5. Set Up Discord
Discord is a great way to quickly interact with your viewers during the stream. You can also create a Discord server to build a community and keep your viewers informed about upcoming streams or ask feedback on your performances.
Final Thoughts
PC gaming streaming equipment has come a long way. With the right components and peripherals, you can now stream your best gaming skills in crystal-clear quality, no matter what game you’re playing.
However, you can’t just rely on the best PC gaming streaming equipment. It takes the proper setup and optimization to deliver a professional-grade stream. Use the tips above to make the most of your equipment and optimize your streaming set-up for the best performance. Good luck!
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