Not so long ago, streaming was an extremely difficult task, taking a lot of time and effort to set up all the tools that made the pictures on the monitor move. Now everything is easier: a large number of programs have been created to conveniently set up the broadcast, and on consoles, this is done by pressing a single button.
Still, it can be difficult to understand the intricacies of the interface of all these programs, because the price of a mistake is the outrage of people who will face a low-quality product. Their comments can easily beat off any desire to do anything further, forcing you to hide and stop this activity forever. After all, streaming is a very creative hobby, and creative people are so vulnerable.
To save you from unnecessary problems, we tried to collect basic PC requirements for streaming here. That is an important first step that hugely influences the quality of your broadcasts.
Preparing for the stream begins with the choice of hardware for your computer:
Most modern processors (even those in laptops) can handle the load quite well, especially if we are not talking about modern projects. Here, in addition to the load from the stream, the game itself also intervenes, and even if everything goes fine individually, then by running everything together you can get excellent lags at the output.
As an example you can try the Intel Core i7-3770K – this is enough to pull any load up to large resolutions like 1920:1080 and 60 frames per second. A slightly more budget option is the Intel Core i5-3570K. It will no longer allow you to completely disregard the settings and you will sometimes have to look where it slows down and where it does not, and can lower the settings somewhere. However, for the most part, it's a great choice.
With the Internet, everything is much simpler. You need a stable connection, and that’s it. Of course, the channel must be large enough. At least 1 megabit per second, although some streamers manage to stream at lower speeds. This is not a problem if you stream turn-based strategy games and Minecraft.
At last, don't forget the sound. The headset in the headphones is usually enough. The most important thing, in this case, is that the sound is relatively clean. Your voice should not be interrupted by extraneous noises and the background should not be too loud. This is the main criterion for choosing a headset.