Which graphics card do I need for streaming?

[wolfbm09]

Ok, before I start, my inlaws want me to build them a computer. They don't game but they do stream videos. They have complained about lag with their current pc and refuse to believe me that their DSL is slowing them down.

I have been given a shoe string budget so now I am at the point of needing a graphics card. I know streaming is more dependant on the cpu but I want to fill in the remainder of the budget with the gpu. I am putting in an AMD FX-4350 quad core cpu, 8gb 1600 Ram, and I am considering dropping them down to a Radeon HD 5450 2gb gpu.

My question is this. Is the graphics card enough or could it honestly be lower (I am not sure if the 1 gb vs 2gb matters when coming to streamin). Please Help.

 

[MetalSparks]

Truly a shoe string budget.

If you truly want to save money maybe drop down to 4GB RAM. My younger brother only has 4 on his system, but he's still able to play Wii/PS2 games/browse the internet without using any more than 3. You could always enable a slightly larger cache on the HDD.

If you're talking about streaming videos off the internet Intel's integrated HD 4000 is fully capable, and the Radeon HD 5450 1GB is a close enough equivalent.

I'm not sure if you're trying to stream high quality videos though. For example, the Radeon card (regardless of vRAM) will have some trouble streaming 1080p@60hz.

 

[wolfbm09]

I am not sure what kind of video they are streaming. I do know he frequents a site that has truckers live streaming their trips and that seems to be where h has lag.

 

[MetalSparks]

Now that I think about it you might be better off switching to Intel.

Where I live (California) you can buy an Intel Pentium G3258 CPU for less than that FX-4350, it requires much less power, and the Intel CPU has integrated HD 4400 graphics, which is better than the Radeon dedicated GPU.

On a B85 chipset motherboard (here in California a basic B85 board can cost $55) I was able to successfully overclock my brother's CPU to a stable 4.6Ghz, and with a Hyper 212 Evo cooler it never broke 62C at 100% load (GTX 650 GPU, sure, but the CPU itself was still powerful enough to play most Wii/GC games and all PS2 games.) (...and then, ironically, a Z97 chipset board was only stable at 4.5Ghz.) Your inlaws wouldn't need more than 4Ghz, and with an Evo cooler temps would be lower than that FX with the stock cooler.

If your inlaws are merely going to use the PC for streaming you'd be saving money on the build, and I'm sure they'd love paying a smaller electric bill.

 

[MetalSparks]

I am not sure what kind of video they are streaming. I do know he frequents a site that has truckers live streaming their trips and that seems to be where h has lag.

It is possible that the internet speeds are the bottleneck.

Have you tried going to Speedtest.net and tested the download speeds?

 

[wolfbm09]

My mother in law is one of the types who when they think something is good nothing changes their mind. :-(

 

[MetalSparks]

My mother in law is one of the types who when they think something is good nothing changes their mind. :-(

Until she realizes that even a $1.5k desktop lags when streaming off DSL, heh.

But seriously, you should attempt to perform a speedtest - less work/maintenance on your end if you discover that download speeds are your bottleneck, and you won't get blamed for "the new computer not working" if it has the same lag issues.

 

[wolfbm09]

Agreed 100%. i know this will be a bridge i have to cross

 

[Firepower0701]

If you haven't built it yet, why not try an apu, like the a10-7800k. That will provide slightly better performance for slightly less money in a MUCH smaller form factor. Also, if they aren't using ethernet, try that. If not possible, make sure you spend money on you network card...