Streaming 1 vs 2 pc

[bIGBUK]

Budget (including currency): 4-6k usd

Country: Romania

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Streaming

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

I saved some money and I'm looking forward do build in the next 5-6 months a gaming pc at first, and I want to also start streaming.

First, I did some research and I found that, for the best quality stream and almost no impact in gaming will be best to build 2 pc, one for gaming and one for streaming using a capture card. So I came with the following (focusing only on the important parts)

2 pc setup:
*Gaming pc*
9800x3d & rtx 5080/5090

 

*streaming pc* 
5800x/5900x (I have am4 board right now) + rtx 4060 for av1 encoding

 

Only 1 godly pc setup:

But today I came with a greater ideea:
9950x3d & rtx 5080/5090 For gaming part

+ rtx 4060 on the same pc only for taking the "load" of streaming/encoding to av1

 

Now can you guys guide me with the following doubts:

1. 9950x3d beeing 16 cores/32 threads is enought for gaming & streaming at the same time without losing gaming performance?

2. What motherboard should I get  with enought pcie lanes for keeping great gaming & streaming performance

3. Which setup will you pick and why?
4. Should I take in consideration an encoding H264/265 card?

Thank you very very much ! ^_^


 

 

 

 

[Stahlmann]

A decent modern gaming PC can handle streaming without cutting your FPS in half. So if you're just starting out I don't think it makes sense to invest a huge amount of money into a 2nd PC. If it works out you can still upgrade to a more professional setup in the long run.

[OddOod]

Welcome to the forums!
 

15 minutes ago, bIGBUK said:

*streaming pc* 

Honestly, you could probably use some old workstation with a nice capture card for this. No need to make it a bangin rig. Grab an Optiplex with a 8700, slap a bangin capture card in it, and boom, you're set.

[GuiltySpark_]

With the level of hardware you're talking about, it makes zero sense to use two PC's. The only possible situation can think of is you stream to 10k+ people live daily and you have someone else running the stream PC that needs to use it while you're live. 

 

I'm familiar with a number of very successful (5000+ viewers live daily) that stream entirely from a single PC using a 4090/5080/5090 tier card.

 

Hardware wise, there is absolutely no reason why this isn't feasible. 

[thekingofmonks]

8 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

A decent modern gaming PC can handle streaming without cutting your FPS in half. So if you're just starting out I don't think it makes sense to invest a huge amount of money into a 2nd PC. If it works out you can still upgrade to a more professional setup in the long run.

Eh, 6-8 core CPUs might suffer

[Why_Me]

25 minutes ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

With the level of hardware you're talking about, it makes zero sense to use two PC's. The only possible situation can think of is you stream to 10k+ people live daily and you have someone else running the stream PC that needs to use it while you're live. 

 

I'm familiar with a number of very successful (5000+ viewers live daily) that stream entirely from a single PC using a 4090/5080/5090 tier card.

 

Hardware wise, there is absolutely no reason why this isn't feasible. 

That makes no sense, especially if the OP is playing fps games.

[GuiltySpark_]

2 minutes ago, Why_Me said:

That makes no sense, especially if the OP is playing fps games.

Care to give me a little more detail? 

[Why_Me]

2 minutes ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

Care to give me a little more detail? 

Gaming and streaming from the same PC takes a significant bite from the frame rates hence the reason for streaming PC's.

[Why_Me]

1 hour ago, bIGBUK said:

Budget (including currency): 4-6k usd

Country: Romania

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Streaming

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

I saved some money and I'm looking forward do build in the next 5-6 months a gaming pc at first, and I want to also start streaming.

First, I did some research and I found that, for the best quality stream and almost no impact in gaming will be best to build 2 pc, one for gaming and one for streaming using a capture card. So I came with the following (focusing only on the important parts)

2 pc setup:
*Gaming pc*
9800x3d & rtx 5080/5090

 

*streaming pc* 
5800x/5900x (I have am4 board right now) + rtx 4060 for av1 encoding

 

Only 1 godly pc setup:

But today I came with a greater ideea:
9950x3d & rtx 5080/5090 For gaming part

+ rtx 4060 on the same pc only for taking the "load" of streaming/encoding to av1

 

Now can you guys guide me with the following doubts:

1. 9950x3d beeing 16 cores/32 threads is enought for gaming & streaming at the same time without losing gaming performance?

2. What motherboard should I get  with enought pcie lanes for keeping great gaming & streaming performance

3. Which setup will you pick and why?
4. Should I take in consideration an encoding H264/265 card?

Thank you very very much ! ^_^

What's your current AM4 cpu, do you already own the 4060, what resolution do you plan on gaming at and what game(s) do you intend on streaming?

 

I would run the gaming PC something like this if you don't intend on editing vids/clips with your gaming PC. This board gives you plenty of PCIe lanes along with Realtek 4080 audio codec.

 

https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/game-capture-4k-pro

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  (2186.98RON @ PC Garage) 
Motherboard: *MSI MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  (1697.65RON @ PC Garage) 
Memory: *Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  (486.98RON @ PC Garage) 
Total: 4371.61RON
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-23 19:17 EEST+0300

 

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-X870E-TOMAHAWK-WIFI/

 

[GuiltySpark_]

14 minutes ago, Why_Me said:

Gaming and streaming from the same PC takes a significant bite from the frame rates hence the reason for streaming PC's.

Except it doesn't on modern hardware, or far less than you seem to believe. Maybe you're not familiar with how things work these days?

All irrelevant anyway. The overall point is buying two whole PC's do the job of one when you're a large, massively successful streamer may make sense. It sure as hell doesn't when you're streaming to an audience of 0 and making no money from it. 

Suggesting otherwise is simply lunacy and frankly, in very poor judgement. 

[Why_Me]

4 minutes ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

Except it doesn't on modern hardware, or far less than you seem to believe. Maybe you're not familiar with how things work these days?

All irrelevant anyway. The overall point is buying two whole PC's do the job of one when you're a large, massively successful streamer may make sense. It sure as hell doesn't when you're streaming to an audience of 0 and making no money from it. 

Suggesting otherwise is simply lunacy and frankly, in very poor judgement. 

Ya ...

[bIGBUK]

"A decent modern gaming PC can handle streaming without cutting your FPS in half. So if you're just starting out I don't think it makes sense to invest a huge amount of money into a 2nd PC. If it works out you can still upgrade to a more professional setup in the long run."
->Yes, you got a valid point, but when I was a child I had a dogsh...pc and now for me,this is my life archivment: to build the best gaming/streaming pc. Also I want to start learning video editing on the side.

 

"Honestly, you could probably use some old workstation with a nice capture card for this. No need to make it a bangin rig. Grab an Optiplex with a 8700, slap a bangin capture card in it, and boom, you're set."
-> That's why I came here with my dilema, I saw that AV1 encoding will be the best for streaming and the chipest option card with that future it's rtx 4060.

 

 

"With the level of hardware you're talking about, it makes zero sense to use two PC's. The only possible situation can think of is you stream to 10k+ people live daily and you have someone else running the stream PC that needs to use it while you're live. ...[]"

->  That's what I also thinked, but I saw numerous clips where they recommend for best performance in games to use a separate pc with a capture card for streaming.

 

"That makes no sense, especially if the OP is playing fps games."
-> I want to play all the games I want and don't want, if possible at 4k 60ps or 2.5k-120. 

"Gaming and streaming from the same PC takes a significant bite from the frame rates hence the reason for streaming PC's."
-> yes, but having 9950x3d with 16/32 cores and a dedicated 4060 for encoding the stream beside the 5080/5090 won't solve this problem?

"What's your current AM4 cpu, do you already own the 4060, what resolution do you plan on gaming at and what game(s) do you intend on streaming?"

-> Got an asus X370 PRO (got it in the summer of 2017 with a 1600x) with a ryzen 2700x and 3070ti suprim x

-> Wanted to change the cpu with a 5800x/5900x bcs they are chap on 2nd hand market (150-180 usd) and that's the easiest part untill I will start building the pc/pcs, but I think I can keep the 2700x for streaming pc

->The 3070ti I can sell for 400 usd on 2nd hand market and buy for 220 usd the 4060, also from 2nd hand market, or I will just go with 310 usd for a new one, reason beeing the encoder av1 from 4060 card

-> Thank you for time for making a configuration, but I will keep with my non-logical goal to build the best of the best pc. The motherboards comparations are really usefull I will check the 2nd hand market for X870E/X670E


"-Gaming and streaming from the same PC takes a significant bite from the frame rates hence the reason for streaming PC's."

"Except it doesn't on modern hardware, or far less than you seem to believe. Maybe you're not familiar with how things work these days?
All irrelevant anyway. The overall point is buying two whole PC's do the job of one when you're a large, massively successful streamer may make sense. It sure as hell doesn't when you're streaming to an audience of 0 and making no money from it. 
Suggesting otherwise is simply lunacy and frankly, in very poor judgement. "

->Yes, this is me ^_^
 

[Agall]

1 hour ago, bIGBUK said:

Budget (including currency): 4-6k usd

Country: Romania

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Streaming

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

I saved some money and I'm looking forward do build in the next 5-6 months a gaming pc at first, and I want to also start streaming.

First, I did some research and I found that, for the best quality stream and almost no impact in gaming will be best to build 2 pc, one for gaming and one for streaming using a capture card. So I came with the following (focusing only on the important parts)

2 pc setup:
*Gaming pc*
9800x3d & rtx 5080/5090

 

*streaming pc* 
5800x/5900x (I have am4 board right now) + rtx 4060 for av1 encoding

 

Only 1 godly pc setup:

But today I came with a greater ideea:
9950x3d & rtx 5080/5090 For gaming part

+ rtx 4060 on the same pc only for taking the "load" of streaming/encoding to av1

 

Now can you guys guide me with the following doubts:

1. 9950x3d beeing 16 cores/32 threads is enought for gaming & streaming at the same time without losing gaming performance?

2. What motherboard should I get  with enought pcie lanes for keeping great gaming & streaming performance

3. Which setup will you pick and why?
4. Should I take in consideration an encoding H264/265 card?

Thank you very very much ! ^_^

I've done 1080p 60fps streaming on even an Ally X with my RTX 4090 hooked up via USB4 just fine. If you're getting a high end new Nvidia card and something like a 9800x3D, there's no question that it can handle streaming by its own. Where it gets questionable is with Radeon cards, but I haven't tested my 7900XT with streaming to say definitively.

[Why_Me]

4 hours ago, bIGBUK said:

"A decent modern gaming PC can handle streaming without cutting your FPS in half. So if you're just starting out I don't think it makes sense to invest a huge amount of money into a 2nd PC. If it works out you can still upgrade to a more professional setup in the long run."
->Yes, you got a valid point, but when I was a child I had a dogsh...pc and now for me,this is my life archivment: to build the best gaming/streaming pc. Also I want to start learning video editing on the side.

 

"Honestly, you could probably use some old workstation with a nice capture card for this. No need to make it a bangin rig. Grab an Optiplex with a 8700, slap a bangin capture card in it, and boom, you're set."
-> That's why I came here with my dilema, I saw that AV1 encoding will be the best for streaming and the chipest option card with that future it's rtx 4060.

 

 

"With the level of hardware you're talking about, it makes zero sense to use two PC's. The only possible situation can think of is you stream to 10k+ people live daily and you have someone else running the stream PC that needs to use it while you're live. ...[]"

->  That's what I also thinked, but I saw numerous clips where they recommend for best performance in games to use a separate pc with a capture card for streaming.

 

"That makes no sense, especially if the OP is playing fps games."
-> I want to play all the games I want and don't want, if possible at 4k 60ps or 2.5k-120. 

"Gaming and streaming from the same PC takes a significant bite from the frame rates hence the reason for streaming PC's."
-> yes, but having 9950x3d with 16/32 cores and a dedicated 4060 for encoding the stream beside the 5080/5090 won't solve this problem?

"What's your current AM4 cpu, do you already own the 4060, what resolution do you plan on gaming at and what game(s) do you intend on streaming?"

-> Got an asus X370 PRO (got it in the summer of 2017 with a 1600x) with a ryzen 2700x and 3070ti suprim x

-> Wanted to change the cpu with a 5800x/5900x bcs they are chap on 2nd hand market (150-180 usd) and that's the easiest part untill I will start building the pc/pcs, but I think I can keep the 2700x for streaming pc

->The 3070ti I can sell for 400 usd on 2nd hand market and buy for 220 usd the 4060, also from 2nd hand market, or I will just go with 310 usd for a new one, reason beeing the encoder av1 from 4060 card

-> Thank you for time for making a configuration, but I will keep with my non-logical goal to build the best of the best pc. The motherboards comparations are really usefull I will check the 2nd hand market for X870E/X670E


"-Gaming and streaming from the same PC takes a significant bite from the frame rates hence the reason for streaming PC's."

"Except it doesn't on modern hardware, or far less than you seem to believe. Maybe you're not familiar with how things work these days?
All irrelevant anyway. The overall point is buying two whole PC's do the job of one when you're a large, massively successful streamer may make sense. It sure as hell doesn't when you're streaming to an audience of 0 and making no money from it. 
Suggesting otherwise is simply lunacy and frankly, in very poor judgement. "

->Yes, this is me ^_^
 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: *ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (416.98RON @ PC Garage) 
Motherboard: *MSI MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  (1697.65RON @ PC Garage) 
Memory: *Patriot Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  (946.97RON @ PC Garage) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card  (7316.99RON @ PC Garage) 
Case: *Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case  (637.61RON @ PC Garage) 
Power Supply: *FSP Group VITA-1000GM 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (751.92RON @ PC Garage) 
Monitor: *Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQML1A 27.0" 2560 x 1440 260 Hz Monitor  (1944.97RON @ PC Garage) 
Total: 13713.09RON
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-24 00:58 EEST+0300

 

https://www.asus.com/us/displays-desktops/monitors/tuf-gaming/tuf-gaming-vg27aqml1a/ 

 

https://www.fsplifestyle.com/en/product/VITAGM1000W.html

 

https://lian-li.com/product/lancool-216/ 

 

 

[Doobeedoo]

Just start with a single PC really. Hardware got much better in last 15y. I stream a bit for fun and I do so at 120fps with like 500fps in game on same machine. Just mentioning you can this all on a single machine obviously depending on game. But if you can do so with esports game and not have issues all good. Performance will be fine, what may feel different is all on single connection depending on your network quality and some extra input lag depending on stream and game setting, also if game requires best perf.