How to build a streaming setup, step by step

A good streaming setup is built in a specific order: sound first, then light, then the camera, then the tools that make running a stream easier. Viewers forgive a soft image far more easily than a voice drowned in keyboard noise, and a cheap camera in good light looks better than an expensive one in the dark.

This guide walks through each step with the products we would buy today. You do not need everything at once: start with steps 1 and 2, go live, and add the rest when you know what your stream needs.

Before you buy: what do you stream?

• PC games from one PC. Your streaming software captures the game directly. You do not need a capture card.
• Console games, or a second PC. You need a capture card between the console and your screen. See step 6.
• Just chatting, podcasts, creative streams. Your face is the content, so the camera and the light move up the list.

Also check your desk. A mic arm, a light pole and a camera all clamp or sit on it, so you want a sturdy desktop with a free edge on each side. Our ergonomic desk setup guide helps you place the screen at the right height first.

Step 1: a microphone that ignores your keyboard

Your mic is the single most important purchase. In a normal room with a mechanical keyboard, a dynamic mic is the safe choice, because it picks up your voice and rejects much of the rest.

• The default pick: the Shure MV7+. It works over USB-C with no extra hardware, its Auto Level Mode and denoiser clean up your voice, and it has an XLR output for the day you add an interface.
• Starting on a small budget: the Razer Seiren V3 Mini, a tiny USB condenser with a supercardioid pattern and tap-to-mute. It is a clear step up from a headset mic.
• The broadcast route: the Shure SM7B, XLR only, which needs a lot of clean gain from an interface (step 3).
• USB and XLR for less: the HyperX FlipCast, a dynamic mic with USB-C and XLR, a level meter and onboard filters. It needs an arm.
• USB only, next to a loud keyboard: the Logitech G Yeti GX, a supercardioid dynamic mic with a limiter against clipping and RGB lighting.

Shure / Microphone

Shure MV7+

• Dynamic
• USB + XLR

$299Setuplify score: 8.7/10

Razer / Microphone

Razer Seiren V3 Mini

• Condenser
• USB

$49.99Setuplify score: 7.1/10

Shure / Microphone

Shure SM7B

• Dynamic
• XLR

$439Setuplify score: 9.0/10

HyperX / Microphone

HyperX FlipCast

• Dynamic
• USB + XLR

$159.99Setuplify score: 8.4/10

Logitech / Microphone

Logitech G Yeti GX

• Dynamic
• USB

$169.99Setuplify score: 8.2/10

Our streaming microphone guide compares more mics in detail if you want to go further.

Step 2: an arm and closed headphones

A mic on its desk stand sits too far from your mouth and picks up every tap on the desk. An arm brings it close. The Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP is a low-profile arm that swings in from the side instead of rising above the monitor, so the mic stays out of your camera shot. It reaches 740 mm and carries mics up to 2 kg. If you prefer a classic overhead boom, the RØDE PSA1+ moves silently and reaches 940 mm, for mics up to 1.2 kg.

Then wear closed headphones while you are live. Desk speakers leak into the mic, and viewers hear the game twice or an echo of themselves. The Audio-Technica ATH-M50x is the classic closed-back pair: no bleed into the mic, and cups that swivel for one-ear monitoring. A gaming headset works too, as long as you use your desk mic for your voice (see our gaming headset picks and our wireless picks).

Elgato / Creator gear

Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP

• Microphone arm

$99.99Setuplify score: 8.2/10

Audio-Technica / Headset

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x

• Studio monitor headphones
• Wired

$159Setuplify score: 8.5/10

Step 3: an audio interface, only if you go XLR

If you chose a USB mic, skip this step. For an XLR mic, the Audient EVO 4 is the small interface we would start with. Smartgain listens to your voice and sets the input level for you, two preamps leave room for a guest, and loopback sends your computer audio (game, music, alerts) into the stream mix. It is powered over USB-C.

With the SM7B, check your levels after setup: it needs a lot of gain, and an inline preamp is a common addition.

Audient / Creator gear

Audient EVO 4

Setuplify score: 8.3/10

A compact 2-in, 2-out USB-C audio interface with two EVO mic preamps, Smartgain and loopback for streaming.

Audio interface

$179.99Check priceat Musician's Friend(Affiliate link)

Step 4: light your face, then your background

The Elgato Key Light is the light we would buy first. Its 2,800-lumen panel shines through a diffuser, so the light is soft, and you set the colour temperature from 2900 to 7000 K to match your room. It clamps to the desk on a pole that reaches 125 cm and is controlled over Wi-Fi or from a Stream Deck. Place it in front of you, a little above the camera and to one side.

Once your face is lit, the background is what makes the stream look designed:

• The Nanoleaf Lines starter kit is nine backlit bars you arrange on the wall behind you, with two colour zones per bar, a music visualizer and screen mirroring. Each Line gives about 20 lumens: it is decoration, not lighting.
• The Philips Hue Play light bar washes the wall in colour from behind the monitor or on a shelf. It needs a Hue Bridge, sold separately.

Elgato / Light

Elgato Key Light

• Key light

$179.99Setuplify score: 8.5/10

Nanoleaf / Light

Nanoleaf Lines 60° Starter Kit (9 Lines)

• Wall light panels

$119.99Setuplify score: 8.2/10

Philips Hue / Light

Philips Hue Play Light Bar (single pack)

• Monitor light bar

$109.99Setuplify score: 8.0/10

For desk lamps and monitor light bars, see our desk lighting guide.

Step 5: a camera

The Elgato Facecam MK.2 is the webcam we would put on a streaming monitor. It films 1080p at 60 fps with HDR, its fixed-focus lens never hunts when you lean in, and Camera Hub gives you manual exposure and stores the settings in the camera. It has no microphone, which is fine here since you already have one.

If you want more detail without a real camera, the Elgato Facecam 4K records 4K at 60 fps from a larger sensor, with the same manual controls in Camera Hub; it needs a USB 3.0 port.

When the camera becomes the centre of your content, the Fujifilm X-S20 is the upgrade: an APS-C mirrorless camera that connects over USB-C or micro HDMI and works as a high-quality webcam. Lenses are extra. Our webcam guide compares the options.

Elgato / Webcam

Elgato Facecam MK.2

• 1080p60

$119.99Setuplify score: 8.4/10

Elgato / Webcam

Elgato Facecam 4K

• 4k60

$199.99Setuplify score: 8.8/10

Fujifilm / Creator gear

Fujifilm X-S20

• Camera

$1,499Setuplify score: 8.7/10

Step 6: a capture card for consoles

If you stream a console or a second PC, the Elgato Game Capture 4K X sits between it and your screen. The HDMI signal goes straight through to your monitor without lag, up to 4K at 144 Hz with VRR, while a copy goes over USB-C to the streaming PC. It needs a fast USB port on that PC, and HDR capture currently works only on Windows.

For a Switch 2, a PS5 or an Xbox Series S, the cheaper Elgato Game Capture 4K S is often enough. It captures up to 4K at 60 fps or 1080p at 240 fps, passes 4K60 HDR10 with VRR through to your screen, and works without drivers on Windows, Mac and iPad. Its limit is HDMI 2.0: no 4K at 120 Hz passthrough.

Elgato / Creator gear

Elgato Game Capture 4K S

• Capture card

$159.99Setuplify score: 8.4/10

Elgato / Creator gear

Elgato Game Capture 4K X

• Capture card

$249.99Setuplify score: 8.6/10

If you play and stream from one PC, you can skip this step entirely.

Step 7: a Stream Deck

The Elgato Stream Deck MK.2 has 15 keys, each a small LCD screen you label with an icon. One press switches scenes, mutes the mic, starts a clip or turns on the Key Light, and plugins cover OBS, Twitch, Discord and music apps. Most people end up using it for work shortcuts too.

Two other models fit different desks. The Stream Deck Neo has eight keys and two Touch Points for pages, enough for a simple stream and work shortcuts. The Stream Deck + has eight keys and four dials that ride your audio levels in Elgato Wave Link or dim your Key Light. Our Stream Deck buying guide compares the three.

Elgato / Creator gear

Elgato Stream Deck MK.2

• Stream controller

$149.99Setuplify score: 8.8/10

Elgato / Creator gear

Elgato Stream Deck Neo

• Stream controller

$99.99Setuplify score: 8.2/10

Elgato / Creator gear

Elgato Stream Deck +

• Stream controller

$179.99Setuplify score: 8.7/10

Three ways to put it together

• Starting out: Seiren V3 Mini, the headset you already own, a window in front of you and the Facecam MK.2 when you can. Go live, learn what you need.
• Serious hobby: MV7+ on the Wave Mic Arm LP, ATH-M50x, Key Light, Facecam MK.2 and the Stream Deck MK.2. This is the setup most people never need to replace.
• Broadcast desk: SM7B on the EVO 4 (plus an inline preamp if your levels stay low), the same arm and headphones, Key Light plus Nanoleaf Lines on the back wall, the X-S20 as your camera, the Game Capture 4K X for consoles and the Stream Deck to run it all.

With this many cables on one desk, our cable management guide is worth a read. You can also add each piece to the Setup Builder to see the whole desk before you buy, or browse all creator gear.