It’s a common misconception that large, full-time streamers own equipment that most casuals could only dream of owning due to their meteoric price tag. Nowadays there are so many competitive yet cheaper models that mainstream streamers are happy to pick up and use. Read on below to find out more about Pokimane’s very reasonable streaming setup and some more ‘wallet watching’ alternatives!
Who is Pokimane?
Pokimane is perhaps the most popular female streamer in the world. She started out on Twitch in 2013 but didn’t start to see a huge spike in interest until 201 7. As she grew exponentially during the year, she dropped out of university to pursue streaming as a career.
Many viewers and fans quote that their interest in Pokimane is not just down to her ‘cutesy’ nature, but the fact that she is actually incredibly intelligent (she was studying chemical engineering at McMaster) and a role model for young females worldwide.
She has amassed 8 million followers and over 19 million views in her time on the platform and is so popular that she is now being offered TV and film roles alongside stars such as Ryan Reynolds.
Over the years Pokimane has built herself an impressive but mostly affordable collection of streaming hardware for her setup. Here are the most important parts and their cost-effective alternatives:
Pokimane Streaming Setup
PC Monitor
Pokimane: Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor
Alienware has been leading the way in gaming hardware for many years now, and the AW2521HFL doesn’t disappoint. With a 240Hz refresh rate allowing you to play games up to 240FPS, it has an extremely fast response time and impeccable color coverage.
Although it might be a bit overkill for a vlogging streamer such as Pokimane, it’s hard not to pip for this monitor when the price point is so competitive, coming in around $360.
With 10 ports, 4 included cables, and full HD resolution, this must be the best value monitor on the market in 2021.
Alternative: Samsung 24” Odyssey
Although the Alienware 25 is a fantastic purchase, it still comes in a little bit pricey. Enter the Samsung Odyssey at $200. Boasting a 144hz refresh rate and a very unique monitor stand which allows you to move and rotate your screen at will, the Odyssey is a great option for first-time monitor buyers.
Being a new product, it’s yet to undergo serious stress tests over elongated periods of time but is so far holding up extremely well!
Mouse
Pokimane: HyperX Pulsefire Surge
Pokimane doesn’t stream games at a competitive level. Her USP (unique selling point) is vlogging, interaction, and casual gaming. Due to this, she doesn’t need a mouse with twelve additional buttons or variable weights, just something light, ergonomic and accurate.
The Pulsefire Surge has large skates for easy gliding, an extremely nice feel in the hand, and a high native DPI for serious accuracy. With just side buttons that are fully customizable, it does everything you could wish for in a casual mouse.
Best of all? It comes in at a very tasty $50. What a steal!
Alternative: Razer Viper Mini
It’s hard to suggest a cheaper alternative to the Pulsefire Surge so instead, we’ll show you a competitor!
The Razer Viper Mini is slightly smaller than the Surge, making it preferable for creators who are constantly traveling and on the go. Although it’s smaller in size it still feels comfortable in the hand and has a little weight to it.
8500 DPI gives it competitive accuracy, although it comes in around half the DPI value of the HyperX Surge! At $40 this is another great, viable option for new and even experienced creators.
Keyboard
Pokimane: HyperX Alloy Origins 60
Gone are the days of people wanting hundreds of Numpad and function keys on their keyboards. Streamdecks mean that hefty keyboards are now a thing of the past and popularity is swaying towards minimalism.
The Alloy Origins 60 has mechanical keys and a slimline design without taking liberties on functionality and performance. While typing you feel as if every press of a button is responsive and weighted exactly the same.
For a hardcore gamer, this might not fit the bill, but for vloggers and casual gamers, it’s a great choice, coming in at $100.
Alternative: Genesis Thor 300 TKL
As with Pokimane’s mouse choice, it’s hard to pick a quality alternative for her keyboard due to it being such good value, but the Genesis Thor 300 is a great second option.
It has all the functions of the HyperX 60 and also boasts in-built software for macro programming.
Potentially the only reason it’s $30 cheaper is the brand; Genesis is slightly less well-known and reputed but does produce fantastic and reliable products.
Headset
Pokimane: HyperX Cloud Alpha
We’re starting to see a trend appear in the hardware choices Pokimane made in her streaming setup. HyperX produces reliable products and it’s no surprise to see a creator sticking to one brand despite not being partnered with them.
The Cloud Alpha headset might not be the most aesthetically pleasing headset with those strange, scaffolding-style metal arms but they do deliver in terms of sound. Dual-chamber drivers give a great depth and bass to the output and a braided cable shows that the designers do listen to their customers.
The attached microphone is good enough for casual Discord or Skype chat but doesn’t really deliver for streaming or recording. At $80 though, you wouldn’t expect much more!
Alternative: Steelseries Arctis 1
The Arctis 1 is a no thrills headset and doesn’t stand out from the crowd but what it does, it does VERY well! Steelseries is known for their high-end and pricey products which are very refreshing to see a headset of theirs for just $50. At this price point, it’s hard to look anywhere else for a solid, well-built headset!
Microphone
Pokimane: Electro-Voice RE-20
Recent research shows that viewers are attracted nowadays to high-quality audio over high-quality visuals. It’s more important than ever to own a microphone that gives clarity and depth to your voice in order to communicate better with your audience.
Let’s address the elephant in the room … the Electro-Voice RE-20 is an UGLY microphone! Of all of the microphones we’ve seen streamers use, this has to be the blandest and boring.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s analyze why it looks so awful. The RE-20 wasn’t made to be visually attractive, it was made to be physically functional and efficient. Every part of the RE-20 lends itself to audio capture and spatial efficiency, making the sound quality absolutely incredible. The cardioid pickup pattern from all parts of the microphone ensures direct, linear sound from in front of it is received well and best of all it doesn’t require phantom power!
At almost $500, it is in a different league to the rest of the Pokimane streaming setup and next to none in quality.
Alternative: Tracer Studio Mic Pro
If you’re a regular reader of our articles, you’ll know this is one of our top picks for must-have audio hardware.
The Tracer Studio Mic Pro is $40. The price point alone might put people off and it almost did for us, but boy are we glad we have one in the office!
Included are a high-quality XLR cardioid microphone, a boom arm, and a pop shield. The sound quality (once routed through a mixer or interface) is crisp, clear, and can compete with $100 counterparts extremely easily. At this price, it’s easy to call it cheap and tacky but once you’ve listened to its results, it’s a revelation in the microphone game.
Webcam / Camera
Pokimane: Sony Alpha A6000
DSLR cameras seem like the obvious choice for webcams, except for one thing; many of them have in-built overlay defaults like grids or markers that, when plugged into an external source, cannot be removed. The A6000 has a workaround on this and as such is a great option as a webcam.
Full 4K specs and incredible frame rate capture means the Sony Alpha isn’t for everyone and costs a whopping $650, but it’s good to note that it is in fact meant to be a professional still image camera and just doubles up well as a webcam. A good choice for top photographers who also stream!
Alternative: Logitech C920
The C920 has been the industry standard for a good 3 years now. With HD 1080p resolution capture and a solid design, it offers great image quality and a sturdy build. A simple USB connection means it’s easy to set up and even comes with its own internal software to help you mix and match filters and color correction.
In Conclusion
For the most part, the Pokimane 2021 streaming setup is incredibly affordable. The two items that will set you back the most are also the two that make the most impact in a stream visually and aurally. When considering which webcam and microphone to go for, it’s definitely worth setting your budget a little higher for these specific items.
Are you still intrigued as to what equipment other large streamers use? Check out our Ninja and Shroud setup guides for more streaming insight!
