What you get for your money
The budget for a streaming PC can be broken down like any other custom build – entry-level, mid-tier, and high-end. If you’re looking to get into streaming but don’t want to take out a mortgage doing so, it can be done on a tight budget but you need to figure out what games you are likely to be streaming and how intensive they might be on the CPU, GPU, or both. Building the PC we recommend for streaming will be costly, but you can expect to play games in crystal clear 4k and stream to your viewers in 1080p 60FPS. It’s often the norm to stream at a lower quality to lessen the demand on your system. It’s also very common for streamers to build a separate PC just for streaming, and have their main system play the games, this is also a viable approach. You could build this PC for your main and use the PC you have now as your streaming rig. Do note, however, that you will need a capture card for this.
With this streaming PC build, no longer will you have to worry about running the most demanding games in ultra settings, this build can do it all. Multi-tasking at the highest level becomes a breeze thanks to the hyper-threaded makeup of the CPU and other strong internal components ensuring a high-quality experience for you and your viewers. Building a PC of this nature is likely to be expensive, and a more complex build if you decide to do it yourself, but there are prebuilt PCs on offer if you do not think you are ready to assemble your streaming machine.
If you do decide you’re ready it’s worth mentioning, that Amazon prices do fluctuate regularly. So, this means the builds might not always be under the intended target. Don’t worry, though; we check the builds daily to make sure the most up-to-date and best-value products are being selected.
Upgradability And Future-Proofing your $300 build
As with anything, there are many ways you can improve upon it. With this build specifically, you could swap out the RTX 4080 for a 4090, you could upgrade the 7800X3D to a 7900X3D, get more Memory, and a bigger M.2. The trouble is that all of this will cost you, and you need to define your budget before you go diving into the parts. Hell, if you’re on a tighter budget, you can downgrade and still get good performance. This build is not the be-all and end-all of streaming PC builds. If you’re looking for a build that will do well in streaming workloads, but is a little more budgeted, we have a $1500 build for you.
Streaming PC build vs prebuilt streaming PC
Here at WePC we always recommend you build your computer as it often saves you money and gives you the skills required to maintain and upgrade your PC for the future. A PC for gaming and streaming simultaneously is no different from any other computer but you will find they tend to be very high-end, with the latest CPU and GPU, along with beefed-up RAM and storage capacity.
The reality is that a prebuilt streaming PC will come with a markup (around $100-$300 depending on the build price) to cover the physical building and software of the machine. Just to put it into perspective, the markup of a prebuilt can essentially be the same price as an entire component. So it’s not economically viable to buy a prebuilt if you do have the skills to build your PC (it’s not too difficult). If you struggle, we have a guide on building a custom PC you can follow.
Performance
While the performance of a prebuilt streaming PC will be great, when building your own, you could include a better CPU or GPU into your computer without spending more. This means you could get even better performance for your hard-earned cash, get better in-game results, and future-proof your investment for longer.
Convenience
The main selling point behind a prebuilt is it saves you the hassle. We understand that not everyone knows how to build a computer and may not even have the time to learn this new skill, so the convenience of a prebuilt makes a lot of sense. Of course, there are many more benefits to buying a prebuilt gaming PC from manufacturers, obviously, it takes the stress away from finding all the compatible components, while also preventing damage to said components when the time comes to build it.
With a prebuilt streaming PC, you are going to be able to send it back to the manufacturer if anything goes wrong. Furthermore, if you feel you need an upgrade, suppliers will often do this for you or at least insist you send it to them for an upgrade. Manufacturers will also dish out a warranty, usually covering parts and labor for around a year but some companies offer impressive warranties and you can always spend extra on insurance, giving you a lengthy/ lifetime warranty.
A prebuilt from the biggest manufacturers around the world isn’t just packaged nicely for you either, they normally stress test the system to ensure the components are working before shipping and that it performs as it should. You will also receive your system with software, usually with Windows and drivers pre-installed, so you can simply plug it in and start downloading games.
Finance and purchase options
Buying computer parts in 2024 can be done in different ways, even if you don’t have the money yourself right now. We don’t think it’s a good idea to go into debt just to get parts for a streaming PC build, because you can end up paying interest. But don’t worry, there are options like ClearPay and Klarna that let you “pay in 3” and offer 0% interest. These can come in handy if your computer suddenly breaks, and you need a new one for work fast. If you don’t want to borrow money, you can always look for used parts, which can save you a lot of money.
We don’t suggest buying certain parts like hard drives and PSUs secondhand. But everything else is usually fine if you make sure they’ve been taken care of. Before buying, ask the seller to prove the part works. If you can, test it out yourself to avoid any tricks or funny business.
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