I have a question...

zombiepunk10 · March 25

I plan on buying a AMD GPU if I get a computer for gaming, but I heard that its video encoder isn't as good as Nvidia's (I'm going to be streaming), what do I get to help with that?

GPU: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XxQKHx/xfx-speedster-qick-309-radeon-rx-7600-xt-16-gb-video-card-rx-76tqickbp

RONOTHAN## · March 25

8 minutes ago, zombiepunk10 said:

but I heard that its video encoder isn't as good as Nvidia's (I'm going to be streaming), what do I get to help with that?

First thing to do is to just try the encoder it has and see if that's good enough for you. The H.264 encoder isn't as good as Nvidia's, that's true, but the H.265 and AV1 encoders are about on par if you're streaming on a platform that can use those like YouTube, and the H.264 encoder should still be good enough for something like Twitch if you're just starting out.

If it isn't good enough, CPU encoding is an option, either with Quicksync if you have an Intel CPU with an iGPU, or just with software encoding (this generally requires a rather heavy CPU to use though). That probably won't be necessary.

Somerandomtechyboi · March 25

32 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

If it isn't good enough, CPU encoding is an option, either with Quicksync if you have an Intel CPU with an iGPU, or just with software encoding (this generally requires a rather heavy CPU to use though). That probably won't be necessary.

im kinda curious about the arc gpus if they can do quicksync like the igpus since they are literally just oversized intel igpus on a pcb cause if they can you can just buy some used arc a380/750/770

RONOTHAN## · March 25

17 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

im kinda curious about the arc gpus if they can do quicksync like the igpus since they are literally just oversized intel igpus on a pcb cause if they can you can just buy some used arc a380/750/770

From what I know they can, though there can be some weird software issues, and at least in the US getting one used for a price that would make sense for this application isn't possible. At least where I look for used parts, the cheapest used Arc card I can find is a $60 A380 would be a 4 hour round trip for me to pick up. Everything else is $100+, and even for $50 you would be better off just buying a 4060 up front.

If you really want to go a route like that, a used Quadro P400 would do the same thing but with NVENC instead of Quicksync, but even then the $40 you'd have to spend for one of those is hard to justify in many cases when compared to just getting the Nvidia card of the same performance level or just dealing with CPU encoding.

Salted Spinach · March 25

If the PC running the game is also the PC sending the stream, then use the following from best to worst

Quicksync if the CPU is Intel with integrated graphics
H.264 encoder (CPU) if you have a CPU with excess cores that the game dont use
AMD Relive (GPU encoder) for RDNA 3 or newer GPU
Capture card that has onboard encoder (very expensive)

If PC sending the stream is not running the game, then a cheap capture card will do. The stream PC can then do all the encoding and uploading work with good quality and no impact on the gaming PC

Cheap mini-PC with recent generation of Intel processors (for Quicksync) work very nicely as a stream PC. Combined with affordable capture card, it allows streaming of whatever device at home that outputs to HDMI and the stream does not go offline if the gaming PC crashes or breaks.