Over the past few years, Twitch has successfully developed a star-studded roaster for content creators, resulting in an increased fanbase. As per recent statistics, this popular streaming platform has driven 140+ million monthly viewers, regularly streaming multiple topics, primarily gaming. However, becoming a famous Twitch gaming streamer is difficult, considering the required effort and commitment.

Are you striving to build a gaming and streaming PC for Twitch? If so, you must create a detailed Gaming pc builder plan involving investing in the optimal hardware components to maximize performance. 

Remember that no one wants to waste valuable time on a laggy, low-quality stream. So, if you’re going to establish your career as a streamer and attract followers, you need to stream your games smoothly at a decent quality resolution. 

This guide has compiled everything you need to know to build an optimal gaming and streaming PC for Twitch.

The Best Gaming and Streaming PC Builds for 2023

Here listed are the top PC builds that you must have to get the best streaming and gaming experience on the same PC:

How Powerful Your Streaming PC Should Be?

If you want to build your PC for gaming and streaming, the requirements will be higher than needed to build a PC for gaming only. A PC is used for gaming and streaming to render your game as usual, capturing the raw video and audio data from the game, converting it into compressed files, and uploading it to Twitch in real-time.

Therefore, the PC will run multiple applications simultaneously, including your game, browsers, live chat, Discord, and overlays.

Even though it’s a lot of work for a PC, you don’t need to invest in a high-end gaming PC to stream. You can opt for a modern budget or mid-range setup. How powerful your streaming PC must be, depends on the type of game and resolution you plan to play and stream. Therefore, get the Computer accessories San Diego after determining how powerful a streaming PC you want to build.

What is Hardware Encoding and Software Encoding?

Hardware encoding involves streaming software like OBS using your GPU or, sometimes, CPU to encode the captured gaming video. The main advantage of hardware encoding for streaming is that it reduces the CPU’s load by allowing GPU to render games as usual while maximizing gaming performance when streaming.

Nvidia GeForce GTX and RTX GPUs use a hardware encoder named NVENC, independent of GPU and dedicated solely to encoding gaming videos. Although AMD GPUs have encoders for streaming, they are less effective than NVdia encoders.

On the other hand, software encoding involves a CPU to encode the captured gaming video. The main advantage of software encoding is that it produces high-quality streams. However, the CPU will be juggling due to much work, including encoding, gaming, and running streaming software and other applications in the background.

If you are a professional streamer with the budget to invest in a high-end CPU, consider using x264 open source video encoder, especially for super fast-motion games.

How Much RAM is Required to Stream Games?

Now that multiple tasks are being performed by the gaming and streaming PC simultaneously, having enough RAM is crucial for effective streaming. A good gaming and streaming PC must have a minimum of 16GB RAM.

With less than 16 GB, you could come across performance issues. But if you don’t stream professionally, it’s technically enough to have 8GB of RAM. And a professional Gaming pc builder recommends getting 32 GB RAM when looking forward to building the best gaming and streaming PC.

What Internet Speed is Compatible for Streaming Games?

Like your hardware components, knowing about your internet connection is essential to have the best gaming and streaming experience on Twitch. The resolutions and quality of your stream significantly depend on your internet connection’s upload speed.

It will help if you always use the fastest connection possible to stream HD video, sound, and commentary smoothly. Regardless of your fancy hardware, a slow internet connection can lead to low-quality, unstable streams.

The resolution you are streaming in also plays a vital role in determining the internet speed. For instance, when streaming full HD (1080P), make sure to have an upload speed of at least 3.5 Mbps, and for 480p resolutions, your speed must not be less than 2.5 Mbps.

How Much Storage Should a Streaming PC Have?

Another factor you must consider to build the best gaming and streaming PC is storage. The PC’s SDD as your main system drive should be big enough for your OS (Windows), games, streaming software, and other applications like video editing tools, voice software, etc.

When wanting to record your gaming sessions, you need to have a secondary hard drive (HDD, if you can’t afford another SDD). It’s recommended to have a 7200RPM HDD to store all your recording sessions. 

Conclusion

With streaming becoming increasingly popular in this digital age, many gamers look forward to leveraging platforms like Twitch to have the best streaming experience. However, you can’t game and stream without a PC optimal for gaming and streaming. 

You need to invest in decent-quality Computer accessories San Diego for building gaming and streaming PC. Knowing the above-discussed basics and key components vital for building a gaming and streaming PC can lead to top-notch streaming performance and value for money.