Question / Help What are the specs for a 2nd streaming PC?

[Drabuse]

Hi guys,

I´m planning on buying another PC, because right now my Processor is not able to support gaming and streaming at the same time. Could you give me some rough outline on what the specs should be? Is it important to have a strong GPU in it and a lot of RAM or is it mostly the processor?

I dont plan on building anything myself, I just want to buy a second PC, but dont want to buy something that wont work out in the end.

Thanks in advance guys!

P.S. I already have a Capture-Card from Blackmagic-Design

edit: to clarify - the 2nd PC is supposed to do only the streaming work!

 

[dodgepong]

The CPU will be the most important part. A discrete graphics card would probably be nice, too, since a lot of integrated cards don't work with OBS.

 

[WayZHC]

I don't know your budget but here is what you need.

1. Powerful CPU like Intel i5 3570(k) or i7 3770(k) or Xeon E3-1230v2 (which is basically same as i7 3770 without integrated GPU). Or AMD FX-6xxx or 8xxx
(by choosing any of these CPUs you can't go wrong).

2. GPU that supports atleast Directx 10. I'd go with like low-end nVidia GT 620, GT 630 or GT 640 for streaming pc.

3. 8GB of ram is just fine.

 

[Sapiens]

If you already have a capture card then really the only important component to worry about is the CPU, since that's what will be doing all of the encoding work. A 2nd or 3rd generation i5/i7 would be ideal, particularly if you plan on streaming something like 720p60 or 1080p content. GPU strength isn't a factor as long as it meets the requirements to run OBS (e.g. the onboard video on modern Intel chips is fine).

 

[WayZHC]

i'd recommend you to build it yourself. You'd get just what you need and much cheaper.
Lower budget example build:

CPU: Intel i5 3570k ($220 in US, 200-220€ in Europe) or Xeon E3-1245v2 (not overclockable but as powerful as i7 3770 is)

MOBO: Z77 board like ASRock Z77 Pro3 for overclocking up to 4GHz or Asus P8Z77-V LX for higher clocks (choose the ASRock if not planning to overclock or going with Xeon)

RAM: 8 GB of ram (choose cheapest 1600MHz kit if planning to use the integrated GPU since it uses system memory)

PSU: Quality PSU like XFX core edition 450W (Don't buy Corsair's or Cooler Master's cheap series PSUs since they are not so good quality)

CASE: Any case you want

CPU cooler: if running at stock - 4GHz use the intel boxed cooler (comes with cpu). If going over 4GHz buy a aftermarket one.

 

[Sapiens]

A Micro-ATX build makes more sense and would generally be less expensive as well. You could even do a Mini-ITX build with something like a BitFenix Prodigy, though component selection and assembly would be a little more involved.

 

[WayZHC]

Well mATX build costs the same and mini-ITX build costs more since most of the mini itx boards costs more.

But i agree, mATX build would be ideal. Mini itx if never going to use more than one pci-e card.