Are Gaming Laptops Good for Streaming?

Since they are packed with high-end components (CPU/GPU), gaming laptops are undoubtedly a good choice for streaming. 

Whether you’re a gamer, a musician, or an artist sharing your content with the world, getting a powerful gaming laptop can improve your streaming experience. 

But buying a powerful laptop is not everything. For the best streaming setup, there are plenty of other things you need to consider. Be sure to check some of the fine print for gaming laptops. 

Want to learn more? Then keep on reading.

What Is the Difference Between A Gaming Laptop and a Streaming Laptop? 

Brands don’t exactly make laptops for the sole purpose of streaming. The good thing about the best gaming laptops is they excel in performance. So you won’t have to worry about the system crashing mid-streaming. 

However, gaming laptops usually come with bigger price tags and lower battery life. And in most cases (not always), they are large and heavy. 

Gaming laptops excel in performance | Photo by Bence Fagyal

Benefits of a Gaming Laptop for Streaming 

Obviously, the main benefit of gaming laptops is performance. The processors and graphics cards make these machines capable of handling heavy-duty workloads.

If you are a gamer, you already know how much AAA games can overwhelm your computer, and adding streaming into the mix only increases the workload. So getting a laptop with a powerful CPU/GPU combo is always a good idea. 

Gaming laptops are also popular because of their high-quality displays. They are usually larger (15” to 17”) with a high refresh rate. How does this benefit streaming? Gaming is much more fun on a larger display. Moreover, with a high refresh rate, the viewing experience improves since the picture stays smooth at all times. 

Drawbacks of a Gaming Laptop for Streaming  

Just like with most things in life, gaming laptops will require some compromises. 

Gaming laptops usually have poor battery life. This is mainly because of the high-end components that require more power to run. 

Another thing is portability. If your lifestyle requires you to move a lot, a gaming laptop might be a no-go since they are usually large and heavy. 

Last but not least, gaming laptops are known to have low-quality mics, speakers, and webcam. This shouldn’t be too much of a concern though, since no laptop can outmatch a dedicated audio/video equipment setup. 

So, if you’re serious about growing a streaming channel, investing in dedicated audio/video externals is essential.   

What Settings Do I Need for Streaming? 

Choosing the right settings for streaming is as important as having the right equipment. But the thing is, there is no one-size-fits-all. The optimal setup depends on a few things: the hardware’s capabilities, the Internet connection, and how demanding the content is. 

It’s safe to say that a more powerful computer and a faster internet connection will allow you to stream at higher settings. 

If you’re not sure your machine can handle the workload, don’t go for the highest settings. You don’t want to sacrifice performance while trying to achieve better streaming quality. The end result could be worse than the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. 

Full HD (1080p) is perfectly fine, but if your laptop struggles with this one, maybe try lowering the settings to 720p. 

In terms of FPS, the most common settings are 60 and 30 FPS. 30 FPS is not as smooth as 60, but it’s much easier on the hardware. So feel free to experiment and see what works best for you.  

For more details, I recommend checking out the websites of some of the most popular streaming platforms like Twitch. 

What Laptop Specs Do I Need for Streaming? 

It pretty much depends on the content you are going to stream and how it utilizes the hardware in the first place. 

For example, streaming video games requires more powerful hardware. Simply running video games is a pretty intensive task, and streaming puts an additional burden on your computer. 

On the other hand, if you are teaching an online class or running a cooking show, you’ll get by with lower-end hardware.

It Starts With You…

So, have you decided what kind of content you will stream? If you are into hardcore gaming, getting a mighty gaming laptop is a must. For other types of channels, a gaming laptop might be an overkill. 

Also, think about the drawbacks we mentioned above. If you don’t care too much about performance, then limited portability and low battery life may push you away from gaming laptops. 

Minimum & Recommended System Requirements

System requirements are more or less the same regardless of the streaming platform, but for more details, check out their websites. 

Here are some of the most popular streaming platforms at the moment: 

• Twitch
• OBS Studio 
• YouTube Live
• Dacast
• Brightcove
• IBM Cloud Video 
• StreamShark 

Processor

A high-performance CPU with multiple cores is crucial for streaming. So at the very least, we recommend getting a 12th gen. i5 Intel Core series or an equivalent AMD Ryzen 5 processor. But if your budget allows it, the newer i7 or Ryzen 7 processors are the way to go. 

Find out the difference between Intel i5 and i7. Which is a better choice for your?

Memory

The recommended minimum is 8GB RAM, but I’d go for at least 16GB RAM for a smoother workflow.

Graphics card

A powerful graphics card goes a long way toward improving your streaming experience. This is particularly important if you stream directly from your laptop. You could use a CPU-based encoding method, but this will significantly decrease the streaming quality and the overall performance. 

So for the best possible streaming, we recommend going for some of the NVIDIA RTX 40 series GPUs. And if those are too expensive, you can still get a decent performance out of the lower-end GTX cards. 

Storage

Storage is not important for live streaming, but if you want to record your content, get a laptop with at least 512GB of SSD storage. If that eventually turns out to be insufficient, you can upgrade (in most cases) or get an external storage device. 

Displays, keyboards, and trackpads

Most laptops come with an FHD display with sizes ranging from 13” to 17”. For me personally, the sweet spot is 15” since you get a decent amount of space to work on without compromising portability. But for gaming, a larger display with a high refresh rate is always a good idea. 

As for keyboards and trackpads, this is up to you. Gaming laptops are known for backlit (RGB) keyboards with plenty of cool features. And if you prefer using the trackpad over a mouse, make sure it’s responsive and spacious enough. 

How to Improve Streaming from Your Laptop

Here are some pro tips on how to optimize your streaming sessions: 

• Make sure you have a fast and stable internet connection.
• Turn off all the unnecessary apps to ease the workload on your computer.
• Get an additional monitor – this is particularly beneficial if you are a gamer. An extra monitor will let you view your gameplay and streaming channel (comments, chatbox, video, etc.) without switching tabs all the time. 
• Get dedicated audio/video externals – built-in mics and cameras cannot offer the same quality as dedicated ones. If you’re serious about building a streaming channel, make sure to get a nice set of audio and video recording setup. 
• Capture cards are also popular since they allow you to connect several devices and ease the streaming workload. If you’re familiar with this method, check out our best picks for Elgato Game Capture. 

Stream Away: Choose a Laptop that Will Wow Your Audience 

By now, you should have a better understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of gaming laptops. Of course, the general conclusion is that gaming laptops are indeed a good choice for streaming overall. 

For additional laptop recommendations, check out our best picks for live streaming.

And if Twitch is your platform of choice, our list of best laptops for streaming on Twitch has all the information you need.