What specs do you need for a good streaming computer??

MrDragster1970

TCG Elite Member
Dec 18, 2011
4,919
1,774
RT 66 area
.


I stream with my old Gateway and it's very choppy.
The memory is running at 95-98%, so I'm thinking that's an issue??

Before I go looking at new laptops, what specs do I need for smooth streaming.
It sucks when a hockey game freezes or a damn movies takes 4 hours to watch :(

I know nothing about computers other than I always buy gateway & HP.
What's more important for streaming, processor, memory, video card??
I have zero clue.

Thanks Guys.

My internet is ~20 meg, 5 meg, when you do the test.

.
 

Flyn

Go ahead. I'll catch up.
Moderator
TCG Premium
Mar 1, 2004
68,052
27,984
Selling homes on the Gulf Coast of Florida
1. Don't buy Gateway or HP.

2. Laptops are grouped in price ranges. For a full size laptop under $400 is usually cheap junk. In the $400-$600 range you get entry level systems with a bit more processor/memory. $700 and up gives you plenty of laptop for streaming.

What I do is buy in the $450 range and then spend another $100 on a solid state drive. I install that and have an instant $700 laptop. I have no problems streaming multiple programs at once in different windows.

You might be able to just install an SSD into your current computer and notice much faster performance. Processor and memory are more important than a video card, IMO.
 

Flyn

Go ahead. I'll catch up.
Moderator
TCG Premium
Mar 1, 2004
68,052
27,984
Selling homes on the Gulf Coast of Florida
Can't hurt to clean it up and might help a lot.

I would install, update and run malware bytes, too, just in case you have malware slowing you down.

If it's still too slow and you don't want to invest in a new machine, consider the SSD. If you have cover lids and screws on the back it's a ten minute job to switch the drives. If you don't, the laptop needs to be taken apart which can be more complicated.
 

Fish

From the quiet street
TCG Premium
Aug 3, 2007
40,518
7,871
Hanover Park
Real Name
Fish
Im suprised, cause people use Raspberry Pis for Kodi (Why havent you guys switched to Terrarium? 10X better) and it runs fine. I would think an ARM processor $35 computer would have its hands tied compared to an "old gateway". Unless Kodi is optimized for the pi, which I have no idea if it is or not.
 

Kensington

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Aug 14, 2017
11,317
5,369
Shit, you don't need much to stream even 1080P.

I'd get a dedicated graphics card, as I've had issues streaming on CPU if stuff is going on in the background. Don't need anything spectacular, $60 graphics card with HDMI with passthrough. I've got a standard GTX 750, and it'll do 4K if I REALLY push it, but it'll do 1080P without issue.
 

willizm

Very Nice, Very Evil
May 13, 2009
12,829
10,150
The Woodlands, TX
Im suprised, cause people use Raspberry Pis for Kodi (Why havent you guys switched to Terrarium? 10X better) and it runs fine. I would think an ARM processor $35 computer would have its hands tied compared to an "old gateway". Unless Kodi is optimized for the pi, which I have no idea if it is or not.

I use Terrarium, the interface is sleek, the updates are easy and the streams never seem to fail.
 

Intel

TCG Elite Member
Oct 28, 2009
5,889
3,357
Palatine
I mean that laptop is 9 years old. And was slow to begin with when it came out. If it worked before but not now my guess is you still have malware or other background processes that are eating up your very limited resources. Literally buying any laptop that isn't a gateway that is at least 300 dollars would be like 30x faster then what you have right now.
 

Flyn

Go ahead. I'll catch up.
Moderator
TCG Premium
Mar 1, 2004
68,052
27,984
Selling homes on the Gulf Coast of Florida

wombat

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Sep 29, 2007
14,097
2,964
WI
The easy fix is to get something like this Acer. It already has an SSD so that's $100 you don't have to spend. This budget laptop will fly compared to the one you have and it's less than $500.

I have been happy with my Acer 2 years into the purchase. So far, so good. No problems at all.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FTDF30Y/?tag=tcg21-20

Here's Cnet's 2018 top budget laptops if you want to compare.

https://www.cnet.com/topics/laptops/best-laptops/budget-laptops/

Not to be rude, but $500 for the laptop you posted on amazon is too expensive for those specs.
 

Flyn

Go ahead. I'll catch up.
Moderator
TCG Premium
Mar 1, 2004
68,052
27,984
Selling homes on the Gulf Coast of Florida
No problem. I put the Acer up because I have been happy with mine. The bloatware wasn't terrible and mostly easily removed. The components, although not state of the art work well together. I imagine shopping around would find a better group of components for the same price or less. I have an i5 and a video card in mine, for instance, and I paid under $450 for it.

The link to the top budget laptops gives info on other choices.
 

wombat

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Sep 29, 2007
14,097
2,964
WI
.


That's why I asked what should I look for in a new computer.
I bought that in 2010 just so I could leave the one I had in the trailer for the data logger on the racecar.
I said it was old.

What's wrong with HP & Gateway??
Just about everything I own is HP, printers, scanners etc and this one Gateway laptop.

.

If you post a budget, I can look for some deals for you in that price range (if you're looking to buy a new one).
 

Kensington

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Aug 14, 2017
11,317
5,369
I’ve actually had good luck with Gateway. My last HTPC was a little Gateway box. It was great.

If you don’t plan on ever moving it, get a mini form factor desktop. Laptop, in my eyes, would have too high of a risk of overheating just sitting there running all the time.
 

MrDragster1970

TCG Elite Member
Dec 18, 2011
4,919
1,774
RT 66 area
.

Before I forget, I keep the laptop on a piece of the wire shelf I cut on an angle.
I hate when it lays flat, it bothers my arthritis, and I figured it would help with cooling??

Don't really have a budget, I need something that will play a hockey game & movie without all the damn lag.
So don't need anything special, it will basically be used as my VCR to watch sports & old movies.

I don't mind doing my own leg work, I really don't know which number I need to improve on??
Is the 1.73 Ghz the problem, the 1.00 GB or both??
I got the malware program last night and ran it over night in safe mode and it said zero issues found??

Thanks for all the knowledge Guys, appreciate it.


.
 

Flyn

Go ahead. I'll catch up.
Moderator
TCG Premium
Mar 1, 2004
68,052
27,984
Selling homes on the Gulf Coast of Florida
No malware is good.

Any computer you get for over $250 will stream your programs better than what you have now. In general, you want to set a price point and then buy the best deal for that money. Toss out an amount you want to spend and the guys will find tasty laptops for you. If you spend around $400-$450 (or more), you should be able to get a laptop that will make you happy.

Basically you want better/newer everything. It's not just GB or Ghz. Newer computers handle the streaming software better than older machines.
 

Fish

From the quiet street
TCG Premium
Aug 3, 2007
40,518
7,871
Hanover Park
Real Name
Fish
Shit, you don't need much to stream even 1080P.

I'd get a dedicated graphics card, as I've had issues streaming on CPU if stuff is going on in the background. Don't need anything spectacular, $60 graphics card with HDMI with passthrough. I've got a standard GTX 750, and it'll do 4K if I REALLY push it, but it'll do 1080P without issue.

I never addressed this.

A graphics card can HELP your CPU, but streaming is still harder on the CPU. You are better off having a better CPU and more ram with a 770 than a "old gateway" and a 1080.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant. Consider starting a new thread to get fresh replies.

Thread Info