Which encoder should I use for twitch/YouTube livestream

[basedthirst]

So my current specs are an i7 4790 non k, Rx 470 @ stock speeds, and 8 gigs of RAM @ 1600 mhz.

I want to get into streaming but I'm not sure which encoder to use, I'm shooting to record mainly my screen @ 720p 60 fps and  my voice with a mic. (Possibly my face via webcam eventually) 

I was considering obs, but just wanted other opinions. 

Also feel free to add in anything else I should know, thanks! 

[Hiitchy]

Obs works really well for anyone that wants to stream and is generally really easy to use and configure. I barely stream but enjoyed using it for when I did. 

[KenjiUmino]

1 hour ago, basedthirst said:

I want to get into streaming but I'm not sure which encoder to use, I'm shooting to record mainly my screen @ 720p 60 fps and  my voice with a mic.

obs is the best free software for streaming IMO.

 

what video encoder to use can be a bit confusing but not too complicated:

• intel quick sync video (QSV) - uses the iGPU hardware to encode video. worst quality but minimal performance impact. 
• NVENC or AMD Video Coding Engine (VCE) - uses dGPU hardware to encode video. better quality than QSV but still not great in high motion scenes at the lower bitrates usually needed for streaming. minimal performance impact.
• x264 - uses CPU to encode video. best quality at low bitrates but can impact overall system performance a lot because the CPU has to do everything. 

use x264 if you can but if you get problems with stuttering or low FPS and such either turn down the x264 preset (fast > faster > veryfast) and if that is still not enough then use your GPU encoder instead.