Dedicated streaming laptop
Jasmin Merdan/123rf.com Equip yourself with the best laptop for your streaming needs.
When you’re first starting out as a streamer on a platform like Twitch, you probably make do with whatever hardware you already have, and that’s fine. You probably don’t start out with the best laptop for streaming on Twitch or YouTube; you may be using a hand-me-down Intel Core i3 processor with an integrated webcam and whatever lighting is in the room. But as your audience grows, you may find that you want better quality video, which can mean a better laptop, dedicated camera, and separate microphone (to say nothing of two- or three-point lighting). You might be surprised to learn that Twitch streaming requires a considerable amount of processing power; you won’t be able to stream like a pro with an entry-level computer. But that doesn’t mean you need to buy the most expensive laptop you can afford, either. Whether you need a medium-powered laptop or a high-end machine depends on what you intend to stream (and you don’t need to limit yourself to a laptop, either of course — you can get some excellent desktop computers for audio and video streaming as well). If you are only broadcasting yourself from a camera and microphone, you can get by with a relatively modest system. If you are simultaneously streaming gameplay and providing commentary via a camera and mic, though, that’s a different story — you’ll need a beefier PC to deliver crisp, smooth high-resolution content to your followers. Scroll to the end of the article for some buying advice, which includes the minimum system requirements you should consider for streaming (spoiler alert: it should run on an Intel Core i5 CPU at minimum). But no matter what you’re looking for, read on and browse the best laptops for Twitch streaming around today. There’s something in your price range and power requirements here for you.
When you're sizing up the laptop you plan to use for streaming, it pays to go straight to the source for guidance. Twitch has its own recommendations for what you need: The site suggests having a minimum of a 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5-4670 CPU. If you're buying an AMD-based system, the Ryzen 5 1600 is roughly comparable. You should also have at least 8GB RAM and an NVidia GTX700M graphics card or better -- and honestly, that graphics chipset is pretty old and represents a low bar to pass over. Of course, these are minimum guidelines, and you need to take into consideration what you plan to stream. An audio-video stream strictly through your webcam and mic doesn't tax a modern laptop unduly; you can get by with a modest Coire i3 system. But try streaming a software feed along with a picture-in-picture of you hosting a game or software demo, and you'll need significantly more CPU and RAM. It's a good idea to step up to an Intel Core i7 and 16GB RAM. The Best Value in a Laptop for Twitch StreamingIf your needs are modest -- and by that, I mean you mainly intend to broadcast yourself on camera without blending in gameplay or simultaneous video from a program like Kerbal Space Program -- then you can save your money and get a solid Core i5 laptop like the Lenovo ThinkPad E15. That said, if budget is tight, even a budget system like the HP 15 can get the job done. Nonetheless, it's a bad idea to dance in the margin, and if you have the budget, it's a really good idea to buy more laptop than you need. Especially if you are streaming gaming content, go for an Intel Core i7 system. A model like the Acer Predator Helios 300 is a superb choice, since it's got a lot of horsepower while staying quite affordable. See Also:The Best Lighting Kits for Streaming for Twitch and YouTube The Best Webcams for Twitch and YouTube Streaming The Best Microphones for Twitch and YouTube Streaming |