Im pretty new at streaming and i see more and more people using a second pc for streaming.
I asked some why and got always the same answer: You safe much power on your gaming pc and the quality is better cause of it.
Now i am thinking about this and built a “stream-system” too. But my question: Do i need special hardware?
Or is a Dual Core CPU and a capture card enough for it? Or can i use a raspberry with linux interface like this one: https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-3-model-b/
Im sorry for my bad english :S Its not my nativ language :S
You don’t need ‘special’ hardware. OBS runs on your average computer hardware, the quality of the stream will be affected by your settings.
If you want to try to stream at higher qualities and FPS, I wouldn’t not recommend something as small as a raspberry pi, as you need to have the CPU horsepower, and you need some GPU power to properly render/encode the frames (especially if you extra sources instead of just the capture card). Another thing to consider about the PI is that it’s Ethernet speeds (especially when the CPU is already being hit by trying to encode) are much much smaller than your average computer,
Most people use an older PC they weren’t otherwise going to be using, or buy lower end PC’s, such as used PC’s or just lower teir hardware that you can get for around a couple hundred when they build dedicated streaming PC’s.
If your current stream quality or game performance is not able to be handled by your main rig, I would consider instead trying to upgrade your PC parts.
I understand the want/need of a streaming rig, especially given my stream games and PC hardware, but a PI is not going to cut it. Better ways to go about this would be:
Any older PC’s you have around the house not being used
A PC that could be fixed/repurposed into performing this task
Asking if anyone has a used/broken computer they want to get rid of (As then you only need to replace certain things which can save you money, and if it runs perfectly used then you can try that)
Spending a couple hundred on a budget streaming rigs (Many tech-tubers have builds like this that would work that you could look for and see if anything is in your budget)
Offload ANY possible tasks as much as possible. (Close down Anti-Virus background tasks while streaming, ect. (again, helpful if you have another computer that you can use this for - I turned my downstairs computer that was currently being used for light internet use into a 24/7 computer dedicated to running my bot, something the PI would be better for)
This would be the cheapest and most pratical solution for any streamer, since it’s universal. Make sure to reduce any background task on your computer, and offload any streaming tools that aren’t required elsewhere. - View Chat on phone/tablet, ect. While each thing might not look like it would matter, the more you get rid of, the more performance your PC has to use to improve the game and OBS.
Sorry. A bit confused on your comment.
“So i guess a old dualcore cpu with a gpu on this state will not enough?”
If you mean the Raspberry Pi, no.
If you are talking about a older computer, post the specs, it will allow me to more effectively judge it. A dualcore should be plenty for just a simple capture card (with some other possible inputs) to stream encoding, especially if it has a dedicated GPU, but again, it would take knowing the exact hardware to rate it. But like I said, even if that computer isn’t exactly a streaming PC, there are other things you can use that to improve your streaming PC performance.