Question / Help 1 PC vs 2 PC Setup?

[PsykoJelly]

Hi,

I know there are lots of posts and info on 2 PC setups and of course single PC setup. But I am searching for what is actually the best, with pros and cons, because I really can`t come to an answer.

I have 2 PC`s, but I am unsure if using the second PC for streaming is worth it, mainly do to the things I need to lose. Losing out on 1440p res when gaming, screen tear at high FPS due to the capture card.

A 2 PC setup as far as I can see you are limited due to capture cards 1080p and 60 FPS cap (wouldn`t want to spend £1000 on a VisionDVI-DL Capture Card) . You are limited in terms of your gaming quality as high FPS and high monitor Hz causes screen tear on stream. Also for eg) you can`t game on anything over 1080p as you clone the monitor, yes its not a big deal, but it is a limit.

2 PC setup

So, take 2 PC`s, - Intel i7 4930k & i7 4770k, both with 32GB & 16GB RAM, and GTX 980. 1080p monitor.

vs

1 PC setup

Single PC - Intel i7 4930k, with 32GB RAM, and GTX 980 SLI. 144hz 1440p Monitor G-sync (Not streaming at the 1440 res)


Also, when testing quality to twitch, it really seems like bitrate is way more important than the presets, I really didn`t/don`t see too much of a difference and felt like as long as the bitrate was high, the default preset was absolutely fine. For eg) 720 60fps for me was no different at fast vs very fast. Maybe the results don`t differ due to the channel not being partnered?


I guess the single PC setup, you as the gamer get more out of it, you can enjoy the high specs, as the viewer gets the downscaled version. But I am not sure the screen tearing and sound setup is worth it.

Is a 2 PC setup always better? I can see this is a bit of a rant, but I thought people might have more info from their own experience.


Thanks

 

[CritVV]

Nope, two pc setups are kinda overkill really. Presets indeed have only a slight bit of an effect on your stream, and the bitrate indeed is the most important factor. The only reason to use a Dual PC stream setup is so that your cpu isn't being stressed on your main/gaming rig which leaves for a bit higher of a framerate. But seeing as you already have two monsters of a processors, especially the i7 4930k, I don't see that's a problem.

 

[PsykoJelly]

Hey,

I guess unless you have lower specs, a 2 PC setup is not as good as a lot of people say, especially the screen tearing. I only stream as a hobby anyway`s. Best thing to do is use a high bitrate.


Thanks

 

[CritVV]

Hey,

I guess unless you have lower specs, a 2 PC setup is not as good as a lot of people say, especially the screen tearing. I only stream as a hobby anyway`s. Best thing to do is use a high bitrate.


Thanks

Agreed, dual pc setups is more for people who take streaming serious or are really enthousiastic about it or either do it as a full time job. But the setup isn't needed at all. A higher bitrate has more influence on quality. But becareful to not set it to high. Anything over 2500 bitrate can cause buffering issues for the viewer, unless you are partnered. In fact, when the twitch servers are very busy, even 2000 bitrate can cause buffering issues for the viewer, especially people watching from europe, because non partnered streamers transfer streaming data to san francisco and most Europeans have quite a slow connection to that server.

 

[Huevito]

if you are anal about fps drops specially when playing games like bf4 that demand a lot i would say 2, if you play mobas o strategy games then No ,

 

[jamesd1981]

The real point of a 2 pc setup is only if you are looking to stream from the a pc you are gaming on.

A gamer streaming from a ps4 only has ot have 1 pc to provide power enough to stream, while a pc gamer is asking a lot of a 1 pc to run the game and stream as the same time, so people will run the game on 1 system and use a 2nd system totally dedicated to running the stream.

 

[OminousZ]

I have a slightly less monster than yours, but it's still pretty bestly and i use to use it for streaming, but i didn't like losing frames...not even if it's 10. I'm just anal like that. The 2 PC allows much more versatility and takes the load of your gaming PC and you lose 0 frames, especially for a game like Planetside 2 which is heavily CPU intensive. I'd rather stress the streaming PC instead of my much more expensive gaming one.