Question / Help How Good Does My Computer Need To Be?

[Spe]

Hi, I need to get a new computer for streaming. My current one is too old and just way underpowered, I've tried all sorts of settings, and it's simply too weak to stream anything at a remotely watchable quality.

I was hoping to find a computer that could stream from my Xbox One at the highest quality possible, for the lowest possible price. I don't have a budget specifically, but I just want to save money for other things. I'm no expert in computers, so I'm pretty lost when it comes to determining what would work or not. I was looking at some budget gaming computers (~$300-500) because I figured the fast processors would be important for streaming (I don't plan on using the computer for much gaming, though), but I'm still not sure if they would work or not. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

 

[GillyMoMo]

If your computer is new enough don't bother getting another one, get an AMD GPU and stream that way. It's about on par with QSV and the quality is pretty decent. It must be newer than the 6xxx series, and should be mid-range and above.

 

[Spe]

Oh, no, my computer is like five years old, and it was pretty low-end even back then. I don't really want to spend any money upgrading it. It will take a few months to save up for the new computer I'm planning on getting, but I would like to start streaming sooner than that, plus I would like to have a cheap second computer dedicated to streaming anyways. Any suggestions?

 

[Spe]

bump

 

[Spe]

-2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with 3MB on-chip shared L3 cache
-4GB RAM
-500GB hard drive
-Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 288MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

Would something like this be capable of streaming well enough?

 

[GillyMoMo]

-2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with 3MB on-chip shared L3 cache
-4GB RAM
-500GB hard drive
-Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 288MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

Would something like this be capable of streaming well enough?

WIth QuickSync possibly, just depends on what it is you are trying to stream.

 

[Spe]

Mostly FPS games. Would it just need a better graphics card? Or is the processor/RAM holding it back at all? I'm just trying to get an understanding of the kind of specs necessary for streaming with good quality (like processor speed, number of cores, RAM, GPU performance etc.) so I know what to shop for, or to possibly build myself if necessary.

 

[Spe]

Also, I may be able to get some older computer/parts from a friend for much cheaper, so it'd help to know the minimum specs I should be looking for. Thanks :)