When you’re first starting out as a streamer on a platform like Twitch, you probably make do with whatever hardware you already have, and that’s fine. You probably don’t start out with the best laptop for streaming on Twitch or YouTube; you may be using a hand-me-down Intel Core i3 processor with an integrated webcam and whatever lighting is in the room. But as your audience grows, you may find that you want better quality video, which can mean a better laptop, dedicated camera, and separate microphone (to say nothing of two- or three-point lighting).
You might be surprised to learn that Twitch streaming requires a considerable amount of processing power; you won’t be able to stream like a pro with an entry-level computer. But that doesn’t mean you need to buy the most expensive laptop you can afford, either. Whether you need a medium-powered laptop or a high-end machine depends on what you intend to stream (and you don’t need to limit yourself to a laptop, either of course — you can get some excellent desktop computers for audio and video streaming as well).
If you are only broadcasting yourself from a camera and microphone, you can get by with a relatively modest system. If you are simultaneously streaming gameplay and providing commentary via a camera and mic, though, that’s a different story — you’ll need a beefier PC to deliver crisp, smooth high-resolution content to your followers.
Scroll to the end of the article for some buying advice, which includes the minimum system requirements you should consider for streaming (spoiler alert: it should run on an Intel Core i5 CPU at minimum). But no matter what you’re looking for, read on and browse the best laptops for Twitch streaming around today. There’s something in your price range and power requirements here for you.