What is Intel Stream Assist and How to use it?

Streaming your favorite games online can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it can also take a toll on your PC performance. If your computer is not equipped with a high-end CPU, GPU, and RAM, you may face lagging, stuttering, or crashing issues while playing and streaming at the same time. This can ruin your gaming experience and frustrate your viewers.

Fortunately, there is a solution that can help you stream and game smoothly without compromising on quality. Intel’s Stream Assist is a technology that leverages the integrated graphics on your Intel Core processor to handle the streaming workload, freeing up your dedicated GPU to focus on rendering the game. This way, you can enjoy better graphics and smoother gameplay while streaming, even on lower-spec computers.

In this article, we will explain what Intel Stream Assist is, how it works, and what you need to use it. We will also show you some examples of how Intel Stream Assist can improve your streaming performance and quality. Whether you are a casual streamer or a professional gamer, Intel Stream Assist can help you take your streaming to the next level.

Key Aspects

1. With Intel Stream Assist, tasks related to streaming are transferred from your GPU to your integrated GPU. It makes it possible for lower-spec computers to perform better in games while streaming.
2. Major streaming apps, like Intel Arc Control, support it, and it makes AI features run faster without putting too much stress on your GPU.
3. Intel Stream Assist only works with four streaming apps right now, and you need an Intel 11th Gen CPU or higher and an Intel Arc GPU to run it.

What is Stream Assist?

Stream Assist from Intel is a Deep Link technology that diverts tasks related to streaming from your dedicated GPU to the integrated GPU in your processor. Simply put, Intel Stream Assist splits the tasks of rendering games and streaming into two different GPU processes. This way, you can get better performance in games while streaming at the same quality or even better quality.

It takes more work for your GPU to show your game correctly because of this. The built-in GPU handles encoding and other tasks linked to streaming at the same time, giving you better performance than if your dedicated GPU had to do two jobs at once. Well, at least in theory.

How does Intel Stream Assist work?

If you love streaming your games online, but hate the lag and stutter that come with it, you might want to check out Intel Stream Assist. This is a technology that lets you use the integrated graphics on your Intel Core processor to handle the streaming tasks, while your Intel Arc GPU takes care of the gaming tasks. This way, you can enjoy both streaming and gaming without compromising on quality. Intel Stream Assist can also boost the AI features of your streaming app, such as changing your background, without affecting your FPS. Intel Stream Assist is the perfect solution for gamers who want to stream their games online without losing their PC performance.

How Intel® Arc™ Graphics Help You Stream and Share Your Game

When you turn on a computer with Intel® ArcTM graphics, you can use a number of technologies that make streaming and sharing video material better. Some of these tools are:

1. The Intel® ArcTM Control app has streaming and capture tools that AI powers.
2. Stream Assist, which makes your frame rates as high as possible while you stream.
3. Hyper Encode, which speeds up the process of exporting video that has been recorded.
4. AV1 support lets you stream and quickly share ultra-high-resolution, high-FPS video by using better data compression.

These changes make it easier to share visually stunning gameplay, no matter how serious you are about streaming or making video.

Intel® ArcTM graphics Benefits for Game Streamers

Intel Stream Assist is a technology that works with popular streaming apps like Intel Arc Control to improve your streaming and gaming experience. By using the integrated GPU to do the AI tasks, such as background replacement, it reduces the load on your dedicated GPU, which can focus on rendering the game at higher FPS. This is especially useful for gamers with lower-spec computers, who may struggle to stream and game at the same time. Intel Stream Assist makes streaming more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

Enhance Streaming Experience with Intel® Arc™ Control

Unlock the full potential of your gaming content with Intel® Arc™ Control’s companion app. Easily initiate streams and access advanced features like Virtual Green Screen, Auto-Frame, and Sharp Stream for a visually stunning presentation. Capture gaming highlights effortlessly with Auto Game Highlights, enabling quick snapshots.

Stream Smarter with Stream Assist

Optimize your frame rates while streaming with Intel® Arc™ graphics’ Stream Assist. This Intel® Deep Link technology efficiently divides streaming tasks between the discrete and integrated GPU, allowing the discrete GPU to focus on rendering frames. Enjoy improved game performance during streaming, supported by popular apps such as Intel® Arc™ Control and its background replacement feature.

Efficient Video Editing with Hyper Encode

Accelerate your video editing and sharing process using Hyper Encode, an automatic feature on computers with Intel® Arc™ graphics or Intel® Deep Link. Leveraging the enhanced Xe HPG microarchitecture, Hyper Encode distributes encoding tasks between the discrete and integrated GPUs. Share gaming content seamlessly, reducing wait times for encoding-intensive videos like walkthroughs and high-resolution clips.

Future-Forward AV1 Support

Stay ahead with AV1 support, a cutting-edge video codec embedded in Intel® Arc™ graphics hardware. Benefit from accelerated AV1 encoding and decoding, ensuring high-quality, low-bitrate video transmission over the Internet. Hardware-accelerated encoding enhances streaming quality, making Intel® Arc™ GPUs the first to offer AV1 support for an improved streaming experience.

Unlock Superior Performance with Intel® Arc™ Graphics

Upgrade your gaming and content creation with Intel® Arc™ graphics, delivering superior performance, enhanced image quality, and versatile streaming capabilities. Opt for a laptop featuring Intel® Arc™ graphics or pair a discrete Intel® Arc™ GPU with a compatible Intel® Core™ processor for the best results. Elevate your artistic work and gaming experience with Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics for optimal speed and performance.

What Hardware Do You Need to Run Intel Stream Assist?

Intel’s Stream Assist is great, but it’s hard to get into. You need at least an Intel 11th Gen CPU and an Intel Arc GPU to start. It is another reason to switch to an Arc GPU if you’re thinking about it. However, Intel’s hardware needs for Stream Assist are a bit hard to understand.

At the time this was written, the following gear can run Intel Stream Assist:

• Laptops with Intel Arc GPUs
• Laptops with Intel Iris X MAX GPUs
• When used with an Intel 12th Gen or higher processor that has built-in graphics, desktops with Intel Arc GPUs

In addition to having pretty restricted hardware, Intel Stream Assist only works with four streaming apps right now:

• Intel Arc Control
• Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
• Xsplit
• AVerMedia CamEngine

Intel® Arc™ Graphics Auto-highlights Supported Games

• CrossFire
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and CS2
• DOTA 2
• Fortnite
• League of Legends
• Naraka Bladepoint
• Rainbow Six Siege
• Overwatch
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
• World of Tanks

Conclusion

Intel Stream Assist is a technology that aims to make game streaming more accessible and enjoyable for gamers with lower-spec computers. By using the integrated GPU to handle streaming-related tasks, it frees up the dedicated GPU to render the game at higher quality and performance. This way, gamers can stream their gameplay without compromising their in-game experience or the quality of their stream. Intel Stream Assist is supported by major streaming apps like Intel Arc Control, which also offers AI features to enhance the stream. To use Intel Stream Assist, gamers need an Intel 11th Gen CPU or higher paired with an Intel Arc GPU. With Intel Stream Assist, gamers can stream their games with ease and confidence.