Budget Streaming Build

This budget build is for those looking to get up and running with a PC capable of gaming and streaming for as little money as possible. I’m constantly updating this kit to make sure all the components selected are giving you the best bang for your buck, hitting that sweet performance spot at a brilliant price point.

All the products included have detailed descriptions justifying why I think they are ideal for someone looking to get into streaming with a high performing setup without breaking the bank. Although prices shown are in US Dollars, all amazon links will automatically take you to your local amazon store, so you can see the component in your local currency.

I’ve included parts for both AMD and Intel builds at this budget. You can toggle between them using the controls below. If you do end up building one of these please make sure you don’t mix an AMD CPU with an Intel Motherboards and vice-versa. When in doubt, please refer to the AMD or Intel Part Lists.

The Hyper 212 from Cooler Master has been well renowned for several years now as an aftermarket cooler for it’s great cooling performance and relatively quiet operation. This should allow for a modest overclock on any unlocked processors.

This part is only necessary if you are going with the Intel CPU or you want to overclock your AMD CPU. If you are just wanting to use the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 without an overclock, it comes with an included cooler that will adequate.

When streaming, you’re likely to have a few applications open simultaneously that will require some memory. Thankfully RAM prices have been dropping over the last few months, so a 16 GB kit (2x 8 GB sticks) is ideal for streaming and gaming together.

If you’ve used the motherboards from this build you’ll have 2 free slots left afterwards if you ever did want to push to 32 GB, but it’s really not necessary unless you are editing video daily or performing some other RAM intensive tasks.
If you’ve chosen an AMD CPU, Ryzen performs best with higher speed memory, so we’ve chosen their recommended speeds of 3600 MHz.

You’ll definitely want to be running Windows, and some key applications from an SSD in this build, and with a little more in your budget I’d recommend getting an M.2 drive. “What’s the difference between M.2 and a traditional SSD drive?” I hear you ask. Essentially, M.2 drives operate directly through the PCIe interface whereas traditional SSD drives use SATA which is slower. So your M.2 drive will be fast (like really fast!).

Since everyone’s storage needs are different, feel free to choose something with more/less capacity and a further mechanical drive should you need it. I’ve recommended a 1TB drive in this build which should allow plenty of space. It can easily be paired with a mechanical harddrive with a higher capacity for you to store your stream VODs and other media on.

Since mechanical harddrives are much cheaper per GB than SSD’s or M.2 drives, it can be worthwhile getting a large mechanical drive for your build to store your stream VODs and other media on. This 2 TB drive from Seagate is still pretty quick at 7200 rpm and is well renowned for it’s reliability.

Cases are largely personal preference, so feel free to shop around for something you prefer aesthetically. Just make sure that it fits our ATX Motherboard and the length of our Graphics Card.

The NZXT H510 is a mid-sized tower case featuring a large tempered glass window, a front-panel USB C port, a shroud to hide your power supply and some great options for cable management to keep your build looking clean.

The most important thing with a power supply is that it’s a well-reviewed product from a trusted brand. It may be tempting to save some money and pick up one of the cheaper power supplies that are available, but this is what is providing power to every component in your build. If it fails there’s a good chance it could cause some damage to the more expensive components.

Corsair are well known for their reliable and efficient power supplies and this one is 650 W which is easily enough for this build and it’s efficiency is rated highly at 80+ Gold certified.

Another great feature of this PSU is that it is fully modular, meaning you only have to plug the cables in that you require. This helps keep the inside of your PC clutter free since you aren’t having to deal with all the extra cables you get with a non-modular power supply. Also, if you wanted to upgrade to custom cables in the future, a fully modular power supply allows you to do that.