Streaming Setup

[GJB]

Need some help deciding what to buy for streaming.

Current setup:
- TV in living room and bedroom has Roku, Amazon firestick and Chromecast.
- Internet is broadcast from my home office using Linksys router. 150mb DL speed. No speed issues ever.

This works great for Netflix, Youtube, Rogers NHL Center Ice, Prime Video etc... but there is a gap. I also want to stream content from my PC to Roku (I've been using Emby App). This was working very well, but the streaming took a large toll on my PC, it started getting overheated and now this isn't an option for current PC.

If I can stream from PC then I can watch TSN, other Sportsnet games I don't have, live events etc... using a friend's paid-for cable subscription and Chromecast. But my question is how to do this, what is the best option?

Options
- Should I buy another PC solely for streaming? Better CPU with better cooling?

- I could also put a tower beside my TV I guess with a network adapter or laptop then use the TV as a monitor? Downside of this may be not being able to control with remote and possible display issues? Emby App makes it so easy for streaming but not usable for this setup. Also with this, this works for 1 TV in the house, streaming covers any amount of TVs.

Anyone else with similar issue, what do you suggest?

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[SniperHF]

If your CPU is overheating just streaming content over your LAN, that should be a pretty easy fix. Did you monitor the temperatures? How high was it getting?
What kind of CPU is it?

- Should I buy another PC solely for streaming? Better CPU with better cooling?

You don't generally need a great CPU for streaming. I run my steaming box on a G3250, an aging dual core only cpu. It handles Netflix and Prime fine. You'd need better hardware for 4k but for normal 1080p stuff a pretty low end PC will work.

There are IR/Bluetooth remotes you can get to control them. But it's difficult to do with a unified remote, but if you're using a Roku and a Firestick right now you don't have that anyway.

 

[GJB]

If your CPU is overheating just streaming content over your LAN, that should be a pretty easy fix. Did you monitor the temperatures? How high was it getting?
What kind of CPU is it?

There are IR/Bluetooth remotes you can get to control them. But it's difficult to do with a unified remote, but if you're using a Roku and a Firestick right now you don't have that anyway.

It's an AMD FX 8320 8-Core 3.5Ghz w/ 6GB RAM. I am not great with computer hardware specs, does it seem suitable for streaming? It's around 3-4 years old. I'm not worried about 1080/4K quality.

My CPU hits 70 Celsius now and goes up to 80 whenever streaming anything so I've given it up for a few months now. Everything else on the PC functions 100% fine.

Ideally I stick with using a PC to stream because running the Emby server in conjunction with my Roku is really convenient.

 

[SniperHF]

It's an AMD FX 8320 8-Core 3.5Ghz w/ 6GB RAM. I am not great with computer hardware specs, does it seem suitable for streaming? It's around 3-4 years old. I'm not worried about 1080/4K quality.

It's more than capable. Are you using a video card or integrated graphics? The integrated graphics on older AMD cpus like that were quite weak.

Are you using the stock cooler? Unless you bought a gaming PC from a builder or put an aftermarket cooler in yourself, you are likely using the stock cooler.

The stock coolers on AMD CPUs from back then are complete garbage. I would replace it. You could probably do so for $25-$45. I can suggest a few, if you're comfortable with installing one yourself. I'd need to know what kind of Case the system has though as not all coolers fit in all cases.

80C is pretty high for an FX CPU.

 

[PK Cronin]

It's more than capable. Are you using a video card or integrated graphics? The integrated graphics on older AMD cpus like that were quite weak.

Are you using the stock cooler? Unless you bought a gaming PC from a builder or put an aftermarket cooler in yourself, you are likely using the stock cooler.

The stock coolers on AMD CPUs from back then are complete garbage. I would replace it. You could probably do so for $25-$45. I can suggest a few, if you're comfortable with installing one yourself. I'd need to know what kind of Case the system has though as not all coolers fit in all cases.

80C is pretty high for an FX CPU.

My thought was the cooling as well. Seems really odd that it's only overheating doing that task. Super simple install though for something that would probably help tremendously.

 

[Osprey]

You can get an official AMD silent cooler for under $17. It has great reviews for being quiet (making it good for streaming) and much better at cooling than stock coolers . I'm about to order one, myself.

AMD Silent Cooler

 

[GJB]

Thanks for the replies, definitely will look into better cooling.

What would you say the most important components are for a streaming computer? CPU, RAM then video card?

 

[ILikeTurtles]

It's an AMD FX 8320 8-Core 3.5Ghz w/ 6GB RAM. I am not great with computer hardware specs, does it seem suitable for streaming? It's around 3-4 years old. I'm not worried about 1080/4K quality.

My CPU hits 70 Celsius now and goes up to 80 whenever streaming anything so I've given it up for a few months now. Everything else on the PC functions 100% fine.

Ideally I stick with using a PC to stream because running the Emby server in conjunction with my Roku is really convenient.

If it is a tower I'd suggest getting some duster and seeing if it needs cleaned out. Could have build up on the fan that is causing the over heating.

 

[SniperHF]

What would you say the most important components are for a streaming computer? CPU, RAM then video card?

I wouldn't really think of it that way. There are just baseline levels of performance you need from each piece. You don't need an extremely powerful video card for normal streaming uses but if it's slow enough it will still cause problems. The good news is basically all integrated/onboard graphics these days are good enough, so you don't even need a separate video card on most new CPUs.

How much RAM you need depends a lot of what else is running on the system. 4GB is enough on my system but it's a HTPC only and does nothing else.

Could have build up on the fan that is causing the over heating.

Good point. I'd hope even a lot of dust wouldn't cause unsafe temps but if the case has poor airflow to begin with it's possible.

 

[GJB]

If it is a tower I'd suggest getting some duster and seeing if it needs cleaned out. Could have build up on the fan that is causing the over heating.

Update.

So yeah, I hadn't cleaned it in a very long time. I sprayed it out, lots of dust, then plugged it back in without the case on, and streamed with temperatures no higher than 32 celsius. It cut the temperatures in half! I haven't put the case back on yet but I'm wondering how much higher that will drive it up.

 

[ILikeTurtles]

Update.

So yeah, I hadn't cleaned it in a very long time. I sprayed it out, lots of dust, then plugged it back in without the case on, and streamed with temperatures no higher than 32 celsius. It cut the temperatures in half! I haven't put the case back on yet but I'm wondering how much higher that will drive it up.

I have no way to tell how much the case is altering the temp, but glad to hear you got it resolved. Now cleaning it out isn't going to be perfect fix but for troubleshooting it is the easiest and cheapest thing to check first.

 

[Hivemind]

Thanks for the replies, definitely will look into better cooling.

What would you say the most important components are for a streaming computer? CPU, RAM then video card?

To be clear, you're talking about watching streamed content and not streaming content yourself, right? IE you're just watching Netflix/Prime/Sports/Etc, not broadcasting any content.

If so, there really isn't much in the way of "most important" components. Watching streams is not a particularly demanding task for your PC. The specs you provided should be more than enough. You probably don't even need a discrete video card, the integrated graphics on most CPUs should be more than adequate for the task.