Question / Help Is my computer powerful enough for streaming on twitch?

A

adoptedmirror

New Member
Hello All,
I am pretty new to broadcasting.
Mainly, I will be streaming FIFA 16 from my PS4, I got Elgato HD60.
My computer specs are
Processor: amd fx 8350 eight core processor(8cpus) 4.0.ghz
Memory
G.SKILL TridentX Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C10D-8GTX
( i feel like that is a bit low but idk)
and Geforce gtx 760
What should I upgrade for decent streaming without delays?
Thank you very much.
 
Last edited:
Should work fine, for starting out.

Remember, 720p@30fps, 2000kbps is the 'golden point' for non-partnered streams. Don't get lost chasing numbers.
 
adoptedmirror said:
Processor: amd fx 8350 eight core processor(8cpus) 4.0.ghz
Click to expand...

Eventhough I'm against the amd fx 8350 for different reasons, it's probably better than most people's processors on here. And the processor matters most for encoding. I'm streaming + recording at the same time on my 3.16ghz dual core over here. You'll be fine.

Anyway, you should make sure to configure your stream to a good resolution/bitrate. A bitrate of 1000-2500kbps is good for a non-partnered stream, 2000kbps is playing it more safe than 2500kbps, and is all you'll need if you stick to 30FPS and a resolution equal to or below 720p.

Most importantly, you need to find the slowest CPU preset that your PC can handle. It is best to only have your OBS and chatty for twitch chat open while you stream, so you can turn off everything else and test-record with your stream settings to find out how far you can push your CPU. Don't go below slow though, returns get pretty diminishing beyond that.
 
Eh, they're just starting out, and it's a capable CPU they already have. If they were looking for long-term advice on what to buy for a streaming build, the answer would of course be different (there are reasons most serious streamers use i7 or Xeon based systems over AMD, not worth getting into here as it's not relevant to "is this good enough to stream with").

Don't think that the 2000 vs 2500 split is overly-cautious, depending on your target audience. Before I was partnered, I worked with both. Me streaming from the US, people in Europe especially would buffer quite badly at 2500, but wouldn't at 2000. It does make a difference, if you want to keep as wide a potential audience as possible... which can be crucial for growth.
 
FerretBomb said:
(there are reasons most serious streamers use i7 or Xeon based systems over AMD, not worth getting into here as it's not relevant to "is this good enough to stream with")
Click to expand...

Yea, that's part of what I meant with "I'm against it for different reasons". BTW, what are all the advantages of and differences between i7/Xeon? I just know from experience that Intel's hyperthreading is awesome and newer Intel processors happen to works very well for encoding purposes, but I actually don't know the technical reasons behind all that.

And I didn't actually know that made such a huge difference (I local record more than I stream, and when I do I don't go above 1500 anyways).

And yes, @adoptedmirror your upload does play a great role. Well not that great really, it just has to be good enough and stable enough to tolerate your bitrate. Can you do a speedtest.net?
 
Short version, Xeons don't have iGPUs, natively support SMP (multiple CPUs in one machine), are geared more toward distributed tasks through higher core count and lower individual core clockspeed, and are normally more reliable. They also sometimes require ECC memory (more expensive and slower).
Historically, Xeons were a cheaper option as compared to an i7 (seen as just an i7 without the iGPU). Now, not so much on price. If you're getting into top-echelon streaming, you might consider an SMP Xeon rig to throw 20+ real cores at the encoding workload, for the (present-day) really crazy setups like 1080p@60 with Medium or Slow quality.

2000 vs 2500 is a 25% increase in throughput. It's significant.

I'd recommend against speedtest.net other than as a ballpark... it's really useless for livestreaming though, as it tests a different type of connection than streaming uses. Streaming relies on minimum constant throughput. Speedtest actually throws out the lowest 30% of returns, as it's more concerned with file transfers, and not a data stream.

Better option: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/tech-support/478845-twitchtest-twitch-bandwidth-tester
Still can return erroneous results, but it's a lot more on-point when it comes to streaming.

Upload speed is crucial. Bitrate is life, to a livestreamer. The more you have, the better... even if you don't use more than 2000kbps as a non-partner, having more means your connection will be more resilient to network fluctuation, and your online multiplayer games will be less affected as far as ping is concerned.
 
WilliamBarrows said:
Yea, that's part of what I meant with "I'm against it for different reasons". BTW, what are all the advantages of and differences between i7/Xeon? I just know from experience that Intel's hyperthreading is awesome and newer Intel processors happen to works very well for encoding purposes, but I actually don't know the technical reasons behind all that.

And I didn't actually know that made such a huge difference (I local record more than I stream, and when I do I don't go above 1500 anyways).

And yes, @adoptedmirror your upload does play a great role. Well not that great really, it just has to be good enough and stable enough to tolerate your bitrate. Can you do a speedtest.net?
Click to expand...

I posted my results for that.
 
Like FerretBomb said no speed test is ever fully accurate (even the ones specifically designed for streaming like the one he posted), but the speedtest looks good enough that you won't have to worry too much about upload. You should be able to do 2000kbps with your connection. Might still be good to try FerretBomb's twitch-broadcast-tester just to make sure.

Anyway, at this point you should try either streaming in 720p30FPS or local recording with your stream setup to have a look at the quality so you can see if it satisfies you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top