What’s actually slowing this PC down?
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There is no universal monthly charge for using a GPU to stream. The extra electricity cost depends on how much more power your complete setup draws while streaming than it draws in the comparison state, how long it runs, and your electricity tariff. Measure that difference; do not treat a GPU’s maximum board-power rating as its streaming consumption.
Calculate the extra electricity cost
Use this formula, with power measured at the wall where possible:
Monthly incremental electricity cost = incremental watts ÷ 1,000 × hours streamed per month × electricity price per kWh.
For an always-on stream over a 30-day month, use 720 hours. Each watt of extra power sustained for that month uses 0.72 kWh; multiply the kWh by the rate on your electricity bill.
#1 Best Overall
- Powered by NVIDIA GeForce GT 610, 40nm chipset process with 523MHz core frequency, integrated with 2048MB DDR3 memory and 64-bit bus width
- Compatible with windows 11 system, no need to download driver manually
- HDMI / VGA 2 ports output available. HDMI Max Resolution-2560x1600, VGA Max Resolution-2048x1536
- Support DirectX 11, OpenCL, CUDA, DirectCompute 5.0
- Original half height bracket matches with the low profile brackets make the Glorto GeForce GT 610 graphics card fit well with all PC tower, small form factor and HTPC(except micro form factor)
A hypothetical 100 W example
If streaming added 100 W continuously, the calculation would be 100 ÷ 1,000 × 720 = 72 kWh in 30 days. At the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2025 annual average residential rate of 17.30 cents/kWh, that would cost about $12.46. At the 2025 commercial average of 13.41 cents/kWh, it would be about $9.66. These are arithmetic examples using an assumed 100 W increase—not measured or typical GPU-streaming figures. The EIA reports those annual average retail prices from Electric Power Monthly Table 5.3, February 2026 preliminary data: EIA electricity data.
Measure the right power difference
First decide what you want to price. To estimate the GPU’s contribution, compare the same computer and workload with and without GPU encoding, keeping other settings as consistent as possible. To estimate the electricity cost of the whole streaming setup, compare the complete PC while streaming with the relevant off or non-streaming state.
- Choose the comparison. Record whether you are isolating the encoder or estimating the entire PC’s added consumption.
- Measure at the wall. Use a suitable plug-in power meter or another reliable wall-power measurement method. Record readings over a representative interval in each state rather than relying on a brief peak.
- Subtract the baseline. The difference between comparable readings is the incremental watts for your calculation.
- Apply your own tariff and schedule. Use the price per kWh on your bill and the number of hours you actually stream. For a different month length or schedule, replace 720 with the actual operating hours.
Wall readings include the complete system and power-supply conversion losses. Keep the measurement setup and interval consistent; there is no universal correction factor that turns a component’s rated power into a household bill.
Rank #2
- Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030
- Video Memory: 4GB DDR4
- Boost Clock: 1430 MHz
- Memory Interface: 64-bit
- Output: DisplayPort x 1 (v1.4a) / HDMI 2.0b x 1
Why a GPU’s rated wattage does not answer the question
Hardware encoding does not mean the graphics cores run at maximum board power. OBS explains that hardware encoders move video-encoding work from the CPU to a specialized GPU component. NVIDIA says NVENC is independent of the graphics/CUDA cores. Those descriptions explain how encoding is handled, but neither provides the whole computer’s measured power during a particular continuous stream.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteOBS documents NVIDIA NVENC, AMD AMF and Intel Quick Sync as hardware-encoding options, subject to compatibility requirements. Its NVIDIA note identifies GeForce 750 Ti or newer while cautioning that generation matters. The same documentation recommends hardware encoding generally for performance, not as a guarantee of lower power cost. See OBS Project’s hardware encoding guidance.
YouTube describes both software and standalone hardware encoders and identifies NVIDIA GPUs’ hardware-based encoder as an option for accelerated encoding. Its encoder guidance is about streaming setup, not a measured electricity comparison: YouTube Help: Live encoders.
Rank #3
- The Geforce 210 is with a 589MHz core clock,up to 1066Mbps effective,perfect for working,video and photo editing,allows good fluency,which can effectively meet your needs.
- PCI Express 2.0 interface,offers compatibility with a range of systems. Also includes VGA and HDMI outputs for expanded connectivity,supports up to 2 monitors.Good for adding a simple low profile gpu to a small form factor pc.
- The computer graphics cards is small in size and saves more space,easy to install,plug and play,you can build a compact PC system easily for slim/ITX chassis.
- This low profile video card is good value option for entry level, if you just want basic upgrade graphics and daily simple work for your computer, or not be AAA gamer.(include low profile bracket)
- No external power supply and the all-solid-state capacitor keeps low power consumption and high performance,supports Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP(not compatible with windows 11).
NVIDIA’s January 2025 vendor guide recommends choosing Hardware (NVENC, AV1) for YouTube with an RTX 40 Series GPU, or Hardware (NVENC, HEVC) otherwise. That is vendor configuration guidance; it does not establish that an RTX 40 Series card is necessary, the cheapest option, or a particular number of watts: NVIDIA streaming guide. NVIDIA’s explanation of NVENC’s independence from graphics/CUDA cores likewise does not supply a whole-system power figure: NVIDIA Video Codec SDK documentation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Electricity rates change the result
The EIA’s 2025 U.S. annual average retail rates were 17.30 cents/kWh for residential customers and 13.41 cents/kWh for commercial customers. Its state averages ranged from 8.20 cents/kWh in North Dakota to 35.72 cents/kWh in Hawaii. These are dated U.S. averages, not guaranteed rates for an individual bill; location, customer type and tariff matter. Outside the United States, use your local billed rate rather than these examples.
Should you buy a GPU just to keep a stream running?
Encoder compatibility alone cannot show that a purchase will save money. A sound decision needs the card’s purchase price, your existing hardware, actual incremental wall power, desired output and codec, electricity tariff, and the period over which you expect to use it. Compare the purchase cost with measured electricity and any alternative service charges over that period. Available encoder guidance does not establish a universal cost ranking between GPU encoding, CPU encoding, integrated graphics and automated streaming services.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is a continuous YouTube stream of uploaded videos, StreamNeo is a cloud alternative: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, then go live. Nothing at home has to stay on. It streams your upload as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot; it automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. StreamNeo is for uploaded-video streams to YouTube, not camera broadcasts. Learn more at StreamNeo, or start your free day.
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