Our PCs have become a more important part of our lives. More than 82% of people prefer working from home to making the trek to the office each day, according to The Times of India. This means we’re all spending more time on our computers than ever before, in addition to watching their favorite streaming services or listening to music on their PC. The home computer has become as important to many households as the telephone or TV.
It isn’t just TV shows or films that people are streaming these days. Live streaming sports have become increasingly common, allowing people to follow their favorite teams from across the globe. This is increasingly useful for fans who live or travel to a different country, allowing them to stay connected to that part of their home. It is more than just streaming the game, though. The whole matchday experience is being streamed directly into people’s homes more than ever before.
Things like seeing stats from other games pop up are part of the sporting experience for many people, allowing them to follow multiple matches at the same time. Live sports betting can be another crucial part of an exile’s matchday experience, with some providers offering markets on games across the world. As an example, Ladbrokes’ live in-play markets reach competitions such as the Japanese J1 League and Israel’s Liga Bet. The scores are displayed as they happen, meaning you need a machine with no lag, capable of having two windows open and streaming a live game in one if you’re going to keep up. You might even be video calling friends and family from your home country while streaming the game, putting further pressure on your PC, so fans will want something that can handle the pressure.
If you are looking for a PC setup that can handle the strain of streaming live sports and everything that comes with that, then here are a few of our tips on what to look out for.
Invest in a Solid CPU
Streaming video isn’t exactly new tech but trying to stream a live event can run into problems all over the place. Any amount of lag can give you endless problems and put you behind the rest of the world by as much as a minute or two, which is a lifetime in most games. More than any other individual component, you’ll want to spend the most money on a good processor that can handle multiple applications at the same time. We recommend the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, which will more than exceed most needs for streaming the game and leave you with power to spare for chatting to friends or posting your comments on social media in real-time.
Multiple Monitors are a Must
Even if you don’t have your PC hooked directly to your TV as many people do now, having more than one screen is a solid setup choice. It allows you to keep the game on full screen without sacrificing your ability to talk to others or check the odds in real-time. That also means you’ll want to invest in a video card with at least two outputs, though many, like the Zotac GT 710, offer the ability to have three outputs, giving you more options in how you set up your system.
Internet Speed is Crucial
It sounds obvious but it is worth remembering that the fastest machine in the world won’t do anything about the speed of the internet reaching your door. If you want to stream sports from around the world quickly, with minimal lag, you’ll want to find an ISP that offers competitive speeds. This might mean paying more than the general package, but having a download speed of around 100 MBs will make all the difference in the world.
Curious about the difference in performance between a laptop that is plugged in versus one on its battery? Check out our comparison of the ASUS Zephyrus G14 for its battery and AC-powered performance.
