Settings for Twitch, YouTube and Kick
| Platform | Encoder (Settings → Output) | Resolution | Bitrate (CBR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch | AMD HW H.264 (AVC) | 1080p60 (900p60 for fast shooters) | 6,000 kbps |
| YouTube | AMD HW AV1 | 1440p60 | about 17,000 kbps |
| Kick | AMD HW H.264 (AVC) | 1080p60 | 8,000 kbps |
- Twitch: Turn on Enhanced Broadcasting (Settings → Stream) if Twitch offers it to you; it then picks the codec and bitrate itself.
- YouTube: YouTube gets its better VP9 playback at 1440p; at 1080p60 use about 8,500 kbps.
- Kick: Kick takes H.264 only, with CBR.
Use rate control CBR, keyframe interval 2 s and 160 kbps audio on every platform. These bitrates assume a steady upload of at least 10 Mbps (about 22 Mbps for 1440p on YouTube); the finder sizes them to your real connection.
Encoder preset
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Preset | Quality |
| Profile | high |
If the game stutters while streaming, choose the Balanced preset before lowering the bitrate.
Why these settings for the RX 9060 XT
Encoder hardware: RDNA 4 media engine. Codecs: H.264, HEVC, AV1.
AMD reworked the encoder for RDNA 4: about 25% better low-latency H.264 quality and 11% better HEVC than RDNA 3, and AV1 gains B-frames. That closes much of the gap with NVIDIA for streaming.
AMD lists full AV1 encode for the RX 9060 XT, so it gets the same codec choices as the RX 9070.
Codecs by platform: Kick takes H.264 only. Twitch's standard ingest is H.264; Enhanced Broadcasting can send HEVC or AV1 where Twitch allows it. YouTube accepts H.264, HEVC and AV1 (OBS 29.1 or newer).
What about the CPU encoder (x264)?
Even on a fast gaming CPU such as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the GPU encoder is the better default: it barely touches game performance, while x264 takes CPU time from the game. Use x264 only if your card has no encoder, or on a second streaming PC; start at preset veryfast and move to faster only if OBS shows no encoding lag.
Sources: TechPowerUp: AMD Radeon RX 9070 Series technical deep dive (media engine); Club386: Radeon GPUs get Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting (RX 6000 and newer); YouTube Help: Live encoder settings, bitrates and resolutions; Kick Help: H.264 only, CBR required. Checked November 13, 2026.