Hardware Requirements for 1080p+ gaming, recording, and streaming

[FoHmaddox]

Hi, I currently have an Aorus X3 V3 gaming laptop (16gb ram, i7-4710HQ 2.5ghz, GTX970 6gb, 512gb striped SSD's) that is not capable of recording video at 1080p at 30fps while also recording a webcam @15fps @720p (despite the fact that I can play, for example, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak at 66fps @3k when I'm not streaming/recording from a webcam).

I want a machine that can record at 1080p (preferably 3 or 4k) at a minimum of 30fps while also recording from a webcam at the very least 15fps. Is there a laptop capable of this (preferably an alienware because of their build quality and warranty) and if not, what sort of desktop hardware should I get? What are the desktop and/or mobile CPU/GPU/hard drive configs I should be going for? Will a maxed-out alienware 15 laptop do this? On the dekstop side, will an i7-5820K Processor (6-cores, 15MB Cache) handle 3 or 4k video recording from game + webcam feed?

Also, graphics card recommendations? I heard the Fury X is > than the 980ti now at 3k and 4k due to new drivers, but not sure?

Cost is really no object - I just want to make sure-as-hell I can record at the specs above. Thanks very much!

 

[turkey3_scratch]

What is your budget? Something like a Xeon E3 with 4 cores 8 threads should be sufficient, or you can get an I7-5820K.

 

[FoHmaddox]

as I said, cost is no object - just let me know what I need Thanks!

 

[FoHmaddox]

Any more input? Will I need SSD's in RAID0 to record 4k video?

 

[okcnaline]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 Nano 4GB Video Card ($479.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair Carbide 400C ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: FSP Group Hydro G 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1375.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-08 14:39 EST-0500

This does 2K 144Hz provided that you get an Elgato HD.
And no, you shouldn't need a RAID setup for streaming.

 

[FoHmaddox]

Thanks, but I'm not streaming Trying to record 4k LetsPlay videos - much more hardware intensive!

 

[jaguarskx]

Probably the best thing to do is to have 2 machines. One to play games with and another to record the game play with a video capture device.

That's because encoding video is extremely CPU intensive. The higher the resolution, the more CPU intensive it will be. When doing it on one PC or laptop, the game play and video recording will be fighting for the same resource (the CPU), thus dragging down your overall performance.

It is possible to do it all one a desktop with a nVidia GPU because Shadow Play will allow the GPU to record gameplay. Not sure if it can also record the webcam. That takes the stress off of the CPU and from what I have read you don't loose much performance with the nVidia GPU doing the encoding, but again, the higher the resolution, the more intensive it will be to encode the video. But there are some limitations with ShadowPlay from what I remember reading. I do not know if AMD has something similar to ShadowPlay since I am not into recording gameplay.

 

[James Mason]

To record 4k You'd need SLI'd GTX 980ti's, so you're looking at a $3000 system.

If you want to record/stream at 1080p (60fps) you'll only need about $1600-1800. (30fps would be easier and cheaper.)

If money really is no object...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($374.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH X99 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($308.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($455.55 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($151.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ B&H)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1250W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($178.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Samsung U28D590D 60Hz 28.0" Monitor ($499.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $4375.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-08 19:43 EST-0500

 

[FoHmaddox]

yeah I expect to pay 3-5k, so money is no problem, and I was thinking I'd need SLI I just wasn't sure what processor to use. I also have an aorus X3 V3 that I could perhaps use to encode the video while gaming on a separate machine.

Should I use the i7-6700 or the i7-5820k CPU?

I should note that I won't be reviewing AAA titles, mostly indie space games (relatively low GPU impact, considering).

I had hoped to use shadowplay, but it's super buggy and doesn't support very many games, and only then at specific settings, making it pretty much useless.

 

[James Mason]

yeah I expect to pay 3-5k, so money is no problem, and I was thinking I'd need SLI I just wasn't sure what processor to use. I also have an aorus X3 V3 that I could perhaps use to encode the video while gaming on a separate machine.

Should I use the i7-6700 or the i7-5820k CPU?

I should note that I won't be reviewing AAA titles, mostly indie space games (relatively low GPU impact, considering).

I had hoped to use shadowplay, but it's super buggy and doesn't support very many games, and only then at specific settings, making it pretty much useless.

If you're only doing indie games, you're kinda SOOL then. Indie games won't have SLI/Crossfire support, so you can't use multiple cards, and no single GPU is really any good at 4k.

If you want to do 1440p that's much more reasonable and doable for a single card setup, not to mention your audience, who probably don't have 4k anyways, won't be watching it much higher than 1080p.