While PC hardware has become powerful enough to run games and stream them at the same time, you might want a dedicated streaming PC so that all the resources of your gaming PC are used by the game. That way the streaming PC does all the streaming and the gaming PC renders the game. In this article, we are going to go over whether or not you need a GPU in a dedicated streaming PC and answer some other questions that you might have.
Does A Streaming PC Need A Dedicated GPU?
In most cases you do not need a dedicated graphics card for streaming as the streaming PC is not rendering games, it is just streaming them. In most cases, the integrated GPU of your processor is going to be more than enough but there are cases in which you might need a dedicated graphics card.
If you have a really old CPU with outdated integrated graphics and are streaming at high refresh rates or at a high resolution then you might feel the need to get a dedicated graphics card when using software such as OBS. You can encounter issues if your scenes are heavy when using integrated graphics.
If that is the case then even a budget graphics card like the Nvidia GTX 1050 is going to be more than enough for your streaming needs. But in most cases, you are not going to need a dedicated graphics card for your streaming PC.
Why It is Better To Include A Dedicated GPU?
Having a GPU takes a lot of load off the CPU. Without one, a capture card or software such as OBS is going to take up a lot of CPU resources. A dedicated graphics card can lead to a smoothing experience for the viewer if you have busy scenes or are streaming at higher refresh rates or resolution.
You might not notice any issues in your stream while you are streaming on integrated graphics but if you go back and rewatch your videos, you might notice small artifacts and other graphical issues. A dedicated graphics card is going to remove such problems.
What Is The Required Level Of Dedicated GPU For A Streaming PC?
The GPU is only going to combine the scenes and is not going to encode or render the game so even a budget GPU is going to be enough for a streaming PC. An Nvidia 1050 for example is going to be just fine.
Alternatively, if you have an AMD APU then that is going to be good enough as well. If you have an older graphics card or can find one for fairly cheap then even something like a GTX 770 should work fine in your streaming PC.
Is an Integrated GPU Enough For A Streaming Setup?
An integrated GPU is enough for streaming using a dedicated streaming PC in most cases. You only need a dedicated graphics card for busy scenes or streaming at higher resolution and frame rates.
Recommend CPU With Integrated Graphics
We can recommend the Intel i3-10100 CPU that comes with 4 cores and 8 threads. The CPU has a base clock speed of 3.60 GHz and can boost to 4.30 GHz. It comes with UHD Graphics 630.
Alternatively, you can go with the AMD Ryzen 3 3200G that features Radeon Vega graphics. The processor has 4 cores and 4 threads with a base clock of 3.6 GHz and can boost to 4.0GHz. The processor supports overclocking as well.
Both of the above-mentioned processors are going to be ideal for a streaming PC but the Ryzen chip has a dedicated graphics part that is going to help you with scene compilation.
Integrated Vs Dedicated Graphics: What Is The Difference?
As the name implies, integrated graphics are integrated into the CPU, so that you have a display output even if you do not have a graphics card installed in your PC. These are inside the processor so the footprint is very small, they consume less power and are not all that powerful compared to dedicated graphics cards.
Dedicated graphics cards need to be installed separated. They are powerhouses as compared to the integrated graphics on a processor. They are also larger and have custom coolers to keep them from overheating. They also consume much more power than the integrated graphics that are inside the processor.
Dedicated graphics cards also have a larger dedicated pool or RAM and have faster memory as compared to integrated graphics that share slower memory.
Advantages Of Sicking With An Integrated GPU
While there are clear power advantages of going with a dedicated graphics card, there are some pros of sticking with the integrated graphics. Firstly, there is cost saving. You save money by default as you are not spending anything on a dedicated graphics card.
Secondly, the streaming PC is going to consume way less power using onboard graphics. This could also mean that you do not have to spend money on a better power supply unit. Furthermore, the integrated graphics solution has a smaller form factor and is just simple to use.
Even if you feel the need of getting a dedicated graphics card, you can get one and install it down the line.
All things considered, you do not need a dedicated graphics card in most cases but when you do even a budget GPU is going to do the job.
Wrapping Up
Ultimately you do not need a dedicated GPU in your streaming PC however for the best performance possible it is advantageous to have a low budget GPU in your streaming PC.
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