Question / Help Dual PC Streaming - Dedicated Streaming PC Problem

[Dauthus]

Ok, I have a 2 PC streaming setup. One gaming PC and one Dedicated Streaming PC. Specs are:

Dedicated Streaming PC:
Motherboard: GIGABYTE B450M DS3H
CPU: AMD RYZEN 5 3600X
Video Card: MSI Gaming GeForce GT 710
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home
SSD: WD Blue 3D NAND 500GB Internal SSD
RAM: Patriot Memory Viper 4 Series 3000MHz (PC4 24000) 8GB
Capture Card: AVerMedia Live Gamer 4K

This is an Ultra Wide Monitor I am recording from (3440x1440)

The PCs are connected by a HDMI cable between the Gaming PC and the Dedicated Streaming PC capture card.
The Monitor I game on is cloned with the Capture Card.

Everything works fine until I load OBS. Then my GPU on the dedicated streaming PC jumps to 100% usage. I have the encoding set to the CPU, so why would OBS by itself (basically the only program on the Dedicated Streaming PC other than windows) Cause my GPU to overload? I used this same setup with a AMD RYZEN 3 3200G (using integrated video) and it ran fine but only at 720p. I wanted to jump it up to 1080p, so I updated the CPU and threw in a cheap video card.

Do I have to have to have a better GPU in a dedicated streaming PC just to run OBS?

 

[carlmmii]

You're still only running on your integrated graphics.

Did you plug your monitor into your GPU?

 

[Dauthus]

I can't be running on integrated graphics. The CPU doesn't have integrated graphics. But, yes, I am plugged into the GPU.

 

[carlmmii]

The log you posted shows you running a Ryzen 3200G, which has Vega 8 integrated graphics. If you have an updated log, post that one.

 

[Dauthus]

Well crap. Sorry about that. I must have uploaded the wrong file. Try this one.

 

[BigYuckFou]

try going onto your nvidia graphics card settings and under 3D choose program, under programs set OBS to use your nvidia graphics card.

just a thought,

 

[carlmmii]

Ok, getting there.. lol. Correct system at least!

There's no recording attempt in those logs, so there's no performance metrics that are shown or even encoding settings. Record for ~30sec, stop recording, and upload current log file.

I will say though... the GT710 was a joke even back in the 700-series days for how terrible it is. Don't expect much from it.


[edit] Oh... it's worse than I thought. The 3200g absolutely crushes the GT710's performance.

 

[Dauthus]

I just didn't count on needing any GPU horsepower in the Dedicated Streaming PC just to run OBS. I figured the CPU would do all the work, and the GPU would just run a basic window. Live and learn. I recorded a video.

 

[Dauthus]

Link to another uploaded log.

https://obsproject.com/logs/XwHPFjtfUxB7Sr6L

 

[carlmmii]

That just confirms it. Every test performed there shows ~40% of frames lost due to rendering lag, which is GPU bound. Your CPU has absolutely no problem on the encoding side, but the GPU just isn't able to composite the frame within frame timing.

You could try reducing your canvas size down to the lower resolution and setting a lower capture resolution from your avermedia (I honestly don't know which resolutions would be supported other than native, if any -- this comes down to how avermedia's drivers handle this). If you're able to do this, then that will limit how much compositing area your GPU has to work with, possibly freeing up resources.

Honestly though, the real answer is to use a GPU other than that GT710. It is not suited for this, unfortunately.



… one "hack" you might want to try though. Just as an experiment.

In OBS Settings -> Advanced, change your Color format to RGB. Note: THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANY NORMAL USE CASE. Reason being, the RGB color space forces OBS to use the CPU for all compositing... and as such, usually leads to less than idea performance (CPUs don't have the dedicated hardware circuitry to do image operations).

But, considering the huge disparity in performance you're working with here, it doesn't hurt to try.