Question / Help Best video encoding to my spec. x264 or Nvidia NVENC

T

Torgy

New Member
Hello,
I'm looking forward to maximize out my PC spec including network upload speed to stream at the highest quality without hurting gaming experience.
Current PC spec is :
CPU - 2500K OC'ed to 4.3Ghz
GPU- 970 GTX
Networking is:
100Mbit download and 3Mbit Upload.
Now my main question is: should i run with the Nvidia NVENC encoding since my CPU seems to go all in since it's pretty oldish CPU for streaming.
Of course i'd love to know if anyone with the same specs as mine would share their settings.
Thanks in advance.
If i missed any info let me know,i'm pretty new here :)
 
NVEnc is terrible for streaming. Its only good for saving to your hard drive at a high bitrate. So you should use x264. With your CPU, you'll just need to configure your stream size down a bit more (also because of your low upload rate). I'd try maybe 540p at 1500 kb/s on VeryFast or SuperFast preset. Once you try that, upload your OBS log file and then maybe get some more specific advise.
 
Use 64bit OBS, it runs more smoothly than 32bit on 64bit machines.

Since your upload is so bad, speedtest.net is probably very inaccurate. You should look into this little tool. It will tell you which twitch server is optimal, and what bitrate you can use. (Even if you stream to hitbox the bitrate approximation will still be helpful)

Also, your CPU is actually pretty decent for streaming. I'm not 100% up to date on what is considered high-end these days, but I'd say it's about mid-end for streaming.

As for resolution and FPS. 30FPS should work perfectly fine, and the resolution will depend on the results of the test above. If we can push the bitrate to 2000kbps I think you can do 720p. In that case I'd actually recommend playing your game in 720p so you don't have to scale, and if you do need to scale you should use the highest quality scaling filter (your GPU should be able to handle it). If we can't get more than 1500kbps or something in bitrate, you'll be limited to streaming in 540p unless you're willing to either push your CPU to the absolute limit or go down to 20FPS for 720p.
 
Was the quality acceptable in your test? Everything looks fine from the logs, so if your stream looks fine to you I think you're good.

If you want to push the quality further, you could try using a slower preset such as "faster" if your CPU can handle that alongside your game.
 
WilliamBarrows said:
Was the quality acceptable in your test? Everything looks fine from the logs, so if your stream looks fine to you I think you're good.

If you want to push the quality further, you could try using a slower preset such as "faster" if your CPU can handle that alongside your game.
Click to expand...
According to Twitch.tv , Stream Configuration Quality: Excellent.
the quality seems to be very decent for my mehh upload..
I just wonder if it's sometimes lagging because of the 2k bitrate
 
The log reported no dropped frames, so I doubt it's lagging.

If you're not sure, why don't you link me a "past broadcast" recording of your test so I can see for myself?
 
Except from the part you are violating Twitch TOS (no shirt ;P) the stream looks really good for a 2kbps stream. I did not get any hiccups or "lag" when watching the VOD atleast. I'd say your home free! :)
 
Thanks Bamse.
I'm thinking about upgrading my CPU some day in order to squeeze out more of the gear since in my country 3mbit upload is max limited for home service.
any advises ? i know i'ts kind off the topic at the moment tho,
PC gear again :

-I5 2500K OC'd to 4.3Ghz with Scythe Mugen 2 cooling
-Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3 for 1155
-Seasonic SS-750AT 750W Active PFC 4X PCI-E 62A/12V Single Rail
-GPU 970GTX

Somone told me about getting a capture card in order to reduce from CPU load,can anyone explain what's the idea behind it please? doesn't it requires me to get a second PC with good gear?
 
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A capture card is only useful with a 2nd PC to do dedicated encoding. Otherwise you're better off not using a capture card.
 
as you have already noticed,i'm looking forward to decrease CPU so i can run newer games in the future and able to stream them without any issues.
 
nvenc's bitrate requirements compared to x264 are not favorable.
You're looking at easily twice the bitrate using nvenc to maintain quality vs x264.
 
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