What kind of a rig do I need for streaming?

Hows it going, looking to spend around 2K, and I hope it's enough to get a rig for streaming on Twitch. Looking for something that will be able to run and stream any game, thanks alot, appreciate it.

Do you really think the Vanquish level 4 will be enough, the price difference is pretty big but not sure if it's good enough? Thanks.

Hi giants84,

The Apollo Level 2 will suite your needs perfectly. The i7 6700K with hyperthreading will perform slightly better when streaming depending on the quality of the stream, and your internet speed. Level 2 also includes a 980 which will allow you to maximize most games at 1080P, and leave a small amount of wiggle-room while streaming.

Level 1 will also perform great at 1080P, but you may have to tweak your graphics settings and lower them when streaming. The extra money is worth it in my opinion, and if you do go with the Apollo Level 1 my suggestion to you would be: Upgrade to 16GB of RAM. 8GB is enough; however, it depends on the amount of background programs, and with recent games pegging my system at 7GB/8GB RAM usage; streaming may max your RAM out causing dropped frames, or stuttering as it tries to use your pagefile.

Good luck!

They're both excellent cases in there own right.   A lot of personal preference and aesthetics.    The Apollo , Corsair 760t, has a bit more airflow and has a large window to gaze at the contents and add lighting to.

The Slade, Corsair 550d, is a clean, very good looking case known for quietness if the side and top panel remains on.   For most builds its airflow is fine.

I like some eye candy with lighting and a window to see the components.   Some don't, especially if its on in a bedroom for example.   

Both are good. My pick is Apollo but thats me.

The Velox is probably the best air cooling case here, except maybe the Aventum.    For your single video card build the Apollo will have no trouble.   The Velox doesn't have external 5.25" bays if you wanted multiple optical drives , fan control unit, etc.   Most people don't but thats a consideration.

I don't think your better off with either case over the other.     Both get the job done. Its all about preference.   

Thanks for your help guys, going to go with the Apollo, just as soon as I figure out which motherboard to go with. Thank you.

Btw I'm trying to figure out if the Apollo level 2 is better than level 3 if you load it up with a 980 TI, because the processor on the apollo is a skylake and the other isn't? Is that right, thanks.

Yes, essentially, except for the processor and motherboard, they would be identical.

The 850 is good enough for dual 980 Ti's with a decent overclock. A 550 W would be good enough for a single 980 Ti...I'd suspect your load wattage would be around 400W or so, so that would leave you below 80% load at maximum draw.

Alex did mention on Aug 31st that they were working on going 24/7 support in the next few months for all current and future customers. 

Ah! .... I found it. Alex's post from August last:

Originally posted by Alex Thank you for your interest in Digital Storm, we would love to offer sponsorships but we don't have a big budget for big team packages. We do sponsorships here and there such as with Twitch.Tv, we're sponsoring the following streamers: http://www.twitch.tv/goldglove http://www.twitch.tv/wingsofdeath http://www.twitch.tv/m0e_tv

Originally posted by bprat22 Alex did mention on Aug 31st that they were working on going 24/7 support in the next few months for all current and future customers.

That is still in the works. Hopefully by the Holidays.

Level 1 overclocking isn't going to hurt anything. The CPU is unlocked and ready for it, might as well have them boost it a little. To answer your question though, you probably don't really need it. They will stress test your system while overclocked to id any potential issues. They won't ship you a system that can't handle it.

Only thing I personally didn't like in your build is the Seagate hard drive. They are notorious for extremely high failure rates, so that's a risk. I'd switch that out for a Western Digital Black drive... minimal cost increase, lower chances of bricking your HD. Good luck with whatever you decide :) After hitting the order button, be prepared for a few weeks of anxiety waiting on it to arrive.

The anxiety is insane but all worth it in the end. I agree with Bansai223s comments. Switch to a Western Digital and your build looks pretty darn tootin'!

This is my final build currently, anything I should change, anything overkill? Thanks.

Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING (Intel Z170 Chipset)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 850W EVGA SuperNOVA
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (500GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB (EVGA HYBRID Edition)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H110i GT - 280mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme Performance)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: Strike-X AeroCool Temperature Display & Fan Controller (Requires Chassis Airflow Upgrade)
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 2 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds with Noise Dampening Material)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Boost Graphics Card(s): Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)

What case is it going into?  Reason I ask is that the Apollo and Velox I believe you've mentioned won't make use of the stage 2 noise package.  No place to mount any noise deadening material.  

Looks real good. 

Yep, the $30 is a game on Steam. 

I think really only you can answer that one.

The Apollo isn't a loud machine from what I've heard online (and elsewhere). Since you asked, I'd say your fine with the build you have. Maybe call up DS and ask them about the level 2 noise package the configurator allows you to select. Noise is so subjective, it's pretty hard to give advise regarding it.

Or, you could try and reconfigure your build with the case that comes with the Slade... maybe that's an option? Your build doesn't appear to be overly 'hot' from a thermal perspective. I'd think it would be fine in any tower you can fit it in. I like the design, and the looks of the Apollo case myself and am more than willing to accept a couple dB of extra noise to accommodate it :)


If less noise is more important than cooling capacity, you'll have to make a judgement call there. Maybe search youtube (or the reviews here even) for Apollo systems so you can hear them under load, etc. Even then it's going to be really hard to judge how loud or quiet the systems are since the configs are likely all different from yours.