Stepping into the world of live streaming requires more than just a charismatic personality; it demands a powerful and reliable PC that can handle gaming, encoding, and broadcasting simultaneously without breaking a sweat. The right prebuilt system eliminates the technical guesswork, offering a plug-and-play solution to get you on the air quickly. With a range of components tailored for different performance tiers, you can find a machine that perfectly balances your streaming ambitions with your budget.
From entry-level setups capable of smooth 1080p streams to high-end powerhouses designed for 4K content creation, the market in 2025 is filled with excellent options. This roundup focuses on prebuilt PCs that provide the necessary CPU muscle for encoding, a potent GPU for high-fidelity gaming, and ample fast storage for your growing library of clips and software. We’ve curated a list to help you find the ideal streaming companion, ensuring your focus remains on creating great content.
Our Top Picks for Streaming PCs
- Skytech Gaming Nebula Gaming PC Desktop – Intel Core i5 13400F, NVIDIA RTX 4060
- Skytech Gaming Shadow Desktop PC, Intel i5 13400F, NVIDIA RTX 4060, 2TB NVMe
- CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
- CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Liquid Cool Gaming PC, Intel Core i7-14700KF
- CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
- Skytech Shiva Gaming PC Desktop – AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, RTX 4060
- CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC – Intel Core i7-13700F, RTX 4060 Ti
- Alarco Gaming PC Desktop Computer – Intel i5, GTX 1650
Skytech Gaming Nebula Gaming PC Desktop – Intel Core i5 13400F, NVIDIA RTX 4060
The Skytech Gaming Nebula is a fantastic starting point for new streamers looking for a capable and modern system. Its foundation is the efficient Intel Core i5 13400F processor, which provides ample power for handling game logic and streaming software encoding simultaneously. Paired with the NVIDIA RTX 4060, this PC delivers smooth gameplay at 1080p, and the GPU’s dedicated AV1 encoder is a significant advantage for streamers, offering higher quality broadcasts at lower bitrates.
This configuration includes a 1TB NVMe SSD, ensuring your operating system, games, and streaming applications load almost instantly. With 16GB of DDR4 RAM, you have sufficient memory for multitasking between your game, OBS, a browser, and chat. Coming with Windows 11 Home and no bloatware, it’s a clean, ready-to-stream package right out of the box, complete with a keyboard and mouse to get you started immediately.
Skytech Gaming Shadow Desktop PC
For streamers who need more headroom for multitasking and storing a large library of content, the Skytech Shadow is an excellent step up. It shares the same capable Core i5 and RTX 4060 core as the Nebula but significantly upgrades the supporting components. The jump to 32GB of faster DDR5 RAM means you can run more applications in the background—such as graphic overlays, music players, and multiple browser tabs—without any impact on performance.
The massive 2TB NVMe SSD is a major benefit, providing ample space for your game library, recorded stream footage, and editing projects. The RGB lighting on the DDR5 memory adds a custom aesthetic touch to your streaming setup. This PC strikes a great balance, offering the enhanced multitasking and storage that growing channels need, all while leveraging the efficient streaming capabilities of the RTX 4060.
CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
This CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme builds a powerful streaming foundation with AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 8700G processor and a Radeon RX 7800 XT GPU. The 8-core CPU is well-suited for handling the intensive task of software encoding, ensuring your stream remains smooth even in complex game scenes. The inclusion of a liquid cooler helps maintain optimal performance during long streaming sessions by keeping CPU temperatures in check.
The Radeon RX 7800 XT with 16GB of VRAM is a graphics powerhouse, enabling high-frame-rate gaming at 1440p, which translates to a superior, fluid experience for both you and your viewers. With 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB Gen4 SSD, this system is built for serious multitasking and fast access to all your assets, making it a robust choice for streamers who demand high performance without compromise.
CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Liquid Cool Gaming PC, Intel Core i7-14700KF
Stepping into the high-end segment, this Gamer Xtreme VR model is a streaming behemoth. The Intel Core i7-14700KF processor, with its 20 cores, offers exceptional multi-threaded performance, making light work of the most demanding encoding settings and allowing you to run a production studio’s worth of software in the background. The liquid cooling is essential for keeping this powerful CPU performing at its peak.
Paired with the CPU is the formidable NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti Super, a GPU that excels at 1440p and even 4K gaming. For streamers, the RTX 40-series NVENC encoder is a key feature, providing pristine stream quality with minimal performance impact. Combined with 32GB of DDR5 memory and a 2TB Gen4 SSD, this PC is designed for streamers who are serious about delivering a top-tier, high-resolution broadcast.
CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
For the ultimate streaming and content creation setup, look no further than this CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme. It is built around the phenomenal AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, a 12-core CPU that provides immense processing power for streaming, video editing, and running multiple virtual machines or scenes. This level of performance is perfectly matched with the NVIDIA RTX 4080 Super, a graphics card that dominates 4K gaming and complex graphical workloads.
The specifications are truly pro-level: 64GB of DDR5 RAM ensures that no amount of multitasking will slow you down, and the colossal 4TB PCIe Gen4 SSD offers incredible speed and space for all your projects. This PC is not just for streaming; it’s for creating a full-fledged media channel, handling everything from live broadcasting to post-production editing with effortless ease.
Skytech Shiva Gaming PC Desktop – AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, RTX 4060
The Skytech Shiva presents a compelling value proposition by combining the proven AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor with the modern NVIDIA RTX 4060. This pairing creates a highly efficient streaming PC where the CPU handles the game and application workload reliably, while the GPU takes over the demanding task of encoding the broadcast using its advanced NVENC encoder.
This setup is ideal for streamers targeting a 1080p audience. You get the benefit of the RTX 4060’s performance and streaming features in a more budget-conscious package. It’s a smart choice for those who want a focused, effective streaming machine that leverages modern technology to deliver a high-quality viewer experience without unnecessary extras.
CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC – Intel Core i7-13700F, GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
This Gamer Xtreme VR model centers on a powerful previous-generation Intel Core i7-13700F processor. This CPU offers excellent multi-core performance, which is highly beneficial for streamers using software encoding or running multiple intensive applications simultaneously. When combined with the RTX 4060 Ti, you have a system that provides strong gaming performance and access to NVIDIA’s superior broadcast suite.
The RTX 4060 Ti is a solid step up from the base 4060, offering better frame rates for a smoother gaming experience, which is always a plus for a stream. This combination of a high-core-count CPU and a capable, streaming-focused GPU makes for a very well-rounded and powerful machine that can handle a demanding streaming workflow with confidence.
Alarco Gaming PC Desktop Computer – Intel i5, GTX 1650
The Alarco Gaming PC serves as the most accessible entry point into the world of PC streaming. It is designed for those who want to start streaming without a significant initial investment. The system is built to handle less demanding games while simultaneously broadcasting, making it a practical choice for casual streamers or those focusing on games that are not graphically intensive.
While it lacks the dedicated AV1 or NVENC encoders found in newer GPUs, it provides a functional platform to learn the basics of streaming software and build an audience. For someone testing the waters of content creation or streaming primarily from consoles using a capture card, this PC offers a cost-effective solution to get started.
What to Look For in the Best Prebuilt PCs for Streaming 2025
When I look for a prebuilt PC to handle streaming, I focus on a few key components that make the difference between a smooth broadcast and a laggy mess. It’s not just about playing a game; it’s about playing it, encoding the video, and running your streaming software all at once. The heart of this operation is your CPU. I always recommend a processor with a high core count. For 2025, aiming for at least an 8-core CPU, like an Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7, is a solid starting point. More cores allow your PC to dedicate some to the game and others to the encoding process without choking.
Next up is the GPU, your graphics card. While the CPU does a lot of the heavy lifting, a powerful GPU is non-negotiable for modern gaming. It ensures your game runs at high frame rates and beautiful detail, which is what your audience wants to see. For streaming in 2025, I would set my sights on an NVIDIA RTX 4060 or AMD Radeon 7700 XT as a minimum. The real magic for streamers, however, is NVIDIA’s NVENC encoder or AMD’s AMF equivalent. This is a dedicated chip on the graphics card that handles the video encoding, taking a massive load off your CPU. It’s a game-changer for stream quality and system performance.
Don’t overlook your RAM and storage. Multitasking is the name of the game, and 16GB of DDR5 RAM is the new comfortable standard. If you plan on having a dozen browser tabs open, music playing, and a chat bot running, 32GB will give you all the headroom you need. For storage, a fast NVMe SSD (1TB or larger) is essential. It gets your system and games loading quickly, and it ensures your stream assets and recordings can be written without a hitch. Finally, look for a PC with good cooling and a reliable power supply. A hot, throttling PC is an unstable one, and you need that stability for a professional-looking stream. Keeping these factors in mind will help you find one of the best prebuilt PCs for streaming 2025 has to offer.
FAQ
Can I use a prebuilt gaming PC for streaming, or do I need a special “streaming PC”?
Absolutely, you can use a single, powerful prebuilt gaming PC for streaming. This is the most common setup today. The key is having a modern CPU with plenty of cores and a graphics card with a dedicated hardware encoder (like NVIDIA’s NVENC). This setup handles both gaming and encoding simultaneously without a major performance hit. The dedicated two-PC setup is more for ultra-high-end professional broadcasters, but for most of us, a single, well-chosen prebuilt PC is more than capable.
How much RAM do I realistically need for streaming in 2025?
For streaming in 2025, I consider 16GB of fast DDR5 RAM to be the sweet spot for a solid, no-fuss experience. It gives you enough memory for your game, your streaming software (like OBS), and all your background apps like Discord and a web browser. If your budget allows, jumping to 32GB is a fantastic upgrade. It provides ample headroom for heavy multitasking, future-proofs your system, and is almost a necessity if you plan on streaming very demanding games or doing any video editing on the same machine.
Is an Intel or AMD processor better for a streaming PC?
Both Intel and AMD make excellent processors for streaming. The choice often comes down to the specific model and your budget. Generally, AMD Ryzen CPUs have been known for offering more cores and threads at a given price, which is great for multitasking. Intel Core CPUs often have slightly stronger single-core performance, which can benefit some games. However, with the importance of hardware encoding on the GPU, the difference is less dramatic than it used to be. You can’t go wrong with a modern 8-core or better CPU from either brand for your prebuilt streaming PC.
Why is the GPU so important if the CPU does the encoding?
This is a great question. While the CPU can do the encoding (using software like x264), it’s incredibly taxing and can cause in-game performance drops. The real hero for streamers is the dedicated hardware encoder on the GPU—NVIDIA’s NVENC and AMD’s AMF. This is a separate part of the graphics card designed specifically for encoding video. It handles the entire streaming encode with minimal impact on your game’s frame rate. This means you get a smooth, high-quality stream and a smooth gaming experience from a single PC. So, a capable GPU is crucial for both rendering your game and offloading the stream encoding.
What should my internet upload speed be for streaming?
Your PC is only one part of the equation; your internet connection is the other. For a good quality stream, I recommend a stable upload speed of at least 10 Mbps. This allows you to stream at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second comfortably. If you want to stream at a higher resolution, like 1440p or 4K, you will need significantly more upload bandwidth, likely 20 Mbps or higher. Always use a wired Ethernet connection for streaming, as Wi-Fi can be unstable and cause dropped frames, ruining your broadcast.