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Looking at what needs to be upgraded to stream HD on Twitch.tv

Tags:
  • Hardware
  • Streaming
  • Graphics Cards
Last response: in Systems
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September 24, 2014 10:23:06 PM

Hello everyone,

I'm looking to improve the quality of my stream on Twitch.tv and I believe that the limiting factors are my hardware. I have 8mbps upload, so I don't think its an internet issue. Below are my system specs:
OPERATING SYSTEM:
Windows 2.6.1.7601 (Service Pack 1)
CPU TYPE:
AMD FX(tm)-8120 Eight-Core Processor
CPU SPEED:
3.13 GHz
SYSTEM MEMORY:
17.16 GB
VIDEO CARD MODEL:
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX
VIDEO CARD MEMORY:
4.27 GB
VIDEO CARD DRIVER:
nvd3dum.dll
PRIMARY DISPLAY RESOLUTION:
1920x1080
SECONDARY DISPLAY RESOLUTION:
1280x1024
HARD DISK SIZE:
500 GB
HARD DISK FREE SPACE:
57.96 GB (12%)
DOWNLOAD SPEED:
3 MB/s (24 mbps)
I was hoping that I could get recommendations on what to upgrade.

Thank you!

More about : upgraded stream twitch

a b U Graphics card
September 25, 2014 6:28:40 PM

Looking through your computer specs, your processor is decent but your graphics card is a bit old.
The newer graphics card include GPU hardware streaming where it uses more of the GPU power to stream or record instead of utilizing all of the CPU to do it which is really nice.

What quality are you currently streaming at anyway?


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September 25, 2014 7:30:48 PM

Cats869 said:
Looking through your computer specs, your processor is decent but your graphics card is a bit old.
The newer graphics card include GPU hardware streaming where it uses more of the GPU power to stream or record instead of utilizing all of the CPU to do it which is really nice.

What quality are you currently streaming at anyway?



Thank you for your response!

I am streaming at 1920x1080p (HDTV) 16:9, 30 fps, 2500kbps, encoder preset set to veryfast (if you are familiar with xsplit)

I have two monitors currently, are there any GPUs that you can recommend that have two ports?

Thanks!
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a b U Graphics card
September 25, 2014 9:24:50 PM

Almost all graphics cards these days have two ports. Do you mean two DVI ports or really any video port will do?

I have used Xsplit a few times before. I ran it really well with high quality settings but I was running on an i7 with a GTX 560 Ti card before.

I suggest an AMD card since they have decent price per performance and Xsplit supports AMD VCE which will come on some of the more recent AMD graphics cards.

What is your budget for the graphics card?

Also, what happens when you try to stream at a higher quality, does your computer lag or does it have issues trying to stream because of higher quality?
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September 25, 2014 10:54:56 PM

Cats869 said:
Almost all graphics cards these days have two ports. Do you mean two DVI ports or really any video port will do?

I have used Xsplit a few times before. I ran it really well with high quality settings but I was running on an i7 with a GTX 560 Ti card before.

I suggest an AMD card since they have decent price per performance and Xsplit supports AMD VCE which will come on some of the more recent AMD graphics cards.

What is your budget for the graphics card?

Also, what happens when you try to stream at a higher quality, does your computer lag or does it have issues trying to stream because of higher quality?


Okay awesome, I just wanted to make sure I could have multiple screens.

My budget is maxed around $350, but I would also like a high-end recommendation.

When I try to stream on higher quality, the stream sometimes needs to buffer, so I think i'm losing frames, or when I get more viewers, the stream quality goes down or the stream will crash. I guess i'm looking to replace my weakest hardware pieces so that I can stream high quality seamlessly. Thanks for your recommendations on what you used, I'll check that out.

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a b U Graphics card
September 26, 2014 12:39:53 AM

If it is not too much trouble, you can go for a better CPU, The FX-8350 or FX-8320 (cheaper) is a nice step up from the older FX-8120. Just make sure that motherboard is compatible with the newer CPU.

For $350, you can get a GTX 970 and that is nearly one of the top of the line single graphic cards out there. It's very nice and will last you for some time.

For around $220, you can get a GTX 760 or go for the R9 280x for $250 (R9 280x is a bit better than the GTX 760).
You can get the R9 280 for a little under $200 and it's pretty nice.

I recommend getting a GPU that will complement the monitor resolution you will be playing at. If you're just playing on one monitor of the two (1920x1080) resolution, then the GTX 760 or R9 280x will probably be good. If you want to max out all possible graphic settings while getting like 60 fps, then you can spend a bit more and get the GTX 970.

I wouldn't imagine you needing a powerful GPU to stream HD, just a decent one will be good enough.

When you upgrade to one of these cards, you might eventually ditch Xsplit and use the graphics card's game recorder (Nvidia Shadowplay or AMD GVR) which are a lot better than those regular screen recorders or game streamers that mostly use the CPU.
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