Choosing the right graphics card for live streaming.

The Digital Minute is here for you if you’ve any questions or issues with gadgets or technology.

 

Email me your questions to colin@colinkelly.net and I’ll do my best to answer them.

 

I get a lot of people asking about live streaming and how they can get better results.

 

If you’re working from a PC or Mac and video streaming or streaming yourself playing video games, the graphics card is one of the most important pieces of equipment.

 

Lots of newcomers to streaming focus on broadband speed which is obviously incredibly important, you do need a very high upload speed and probably an ethernet connection plugged right into your computer.

 

You could have that, and a great webcam but if the graphics card in your machine isn’t capable enough then the results will be mediocre at best.

 

You can buy external USB graphics cards which plug into your device but most also need a casing and a fan to keep them cool. Expect to pay up to 2 or 3 hundred pounds for a reasonably good quality card and up to a thousand pounds for the tip of the range models.

 

Nvidia and AMD are among the big names in graphics cards - but before you rush to buy one you’ll need to be sure they’re compatible with your device and if you’re running an Apple Mac you will have a more limited choice.