Elgato 4K X and Duel PC Tearing Issues

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Scrubbn

New Member
I’m having ongoing screen tearing issues when using OBS in my dual PC setup with an Elgato 4K X. I’d like your help in determining if there are OBS settings or configurations that could be causing or resolving the issue.

Setup details:

  • Gaming PC → Elgato 4K X → Streaming PC
  • Software: OBS Studio on both systems (also tested with Elgato 4K Capture Utility on the streaming PC)
  • Gaming PC monitor resolution: 1440p
Issue:
Whenever I capture my gaming PC’s display and send it to my streaming PC through the Elgato 4K X, the resulting video feed in OBS has severe screen tearing.

Methods tested:

  1. Duplicate Display (gaming PC monitor → 4K X)
    • Tested 1440p 165Hz and 1440p 144Hz duplication
    • Still experience tearing, even though 1440p 144Hz is listed as supported by Elgato
  2. Fullscreen Projector Method (OBS on gaming PC → capture on streaming PC OBS)
    • Same tearing occurs
OBS Settings on Gaming PC (Fullscreen Projector Method):

  • 1440p canvas → 1440p output
  • 1080p canvas → 1080p output
  • 1440p canvas → 1080p output
    (I don’t believe output resolution on the gaming PC OBS should matter when using the projector method, but I included all variations I tested.)
OBS Settings on Streaming PC:

  • 1440p canvas → 1080p 60fps output
  • 1080p canvas → 1080p 60fps output
Capture Device Properties Tested (OBS on Streaming PC):

  • Resolutions: 1440p and 1080p
  • FPS: 60 fps
  • Video Format: NV12 and “Any”
  • Color Space: 709
  • Color Range: Full and Limited
  • Buffering: Disabled, Auto, and Enabled
Additional Notes:

  • In Elgato 4K Capture Utility, I configured the Input EDID Mode to Internal (as recommended on Elgato’s forums). I tested both EDID (Internal) 1080p and EDID (Internal) 1440p modes, but the tearing issue persisted.
  • For comparison, I previously used the Elgato HD60 S with the same dual PC setup and did not experience tearing, even when duplicating a 1440p 165Hz monitor (OBS likely auto-downscaled to 1080p 60fps).
I’d like to continue using the 4K X, but currently this tearing issue is preventing me from streaming properly. Any guidance on OBS configuration or capture device settings that might resolve this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Scrubbn
 
qhobbes

qhobbes

Active Member
The 4K X has pass-through. Connect your gaming monitor directly to it. No need for Duplicate Display or Fullscreen Projector.
 
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Scrubbn

New Member
qhobbes said:
The 4K X has pass-through. Connect your gaming monitor directly to it. No need for Duplicate Display or Fullscreen Projector.
Click to expand...
I'm using a duel PC streaming setup. Is there a benifit to using passthrough? I haven't seen anyone do that in this scenario, and haven't ever used passthrough in the years of duel pc streaming.
 
koala

koala

Active Member
Scrubbn said:
Is there a benifit to using passthrough?
Click to expand...
Zero load on the gaming PC?! I thought that's the whole point of using a capture device and a separate streaming machine instead of just running everything on the gaming PC.

As far as I see this, people just don't want to afford the higher quality capture devices able to passthrough higher fps. To project high fps to a low fps capture device is a means to make cheap capture device work. They want to play with high fps their capture device isn't able to handle. So instead of buying a capture device that's able, they use this workaround with the fullscreen projector.
 
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Scrubbn

New Member
I think your mistaken. Most people, I would say 99% of duel pc streamers do not use passthrough. They use the methods I listed above.

The duplicate method has 0 impact (or at least its so small its negligible) on gaming pcs performance. In the 10 years of using this method it maybe lowers fps by 2 fps for me and has 0 input latency to your monitor. Passthrough however, is likely to introduce latency between your gaming inputs and what you see on your gaming monitor. Even if it's small, you try to avoid that when playing competitively.

The duplicate method allows for you to avaid this on your gaming pc and that is why they are the most widely used methods. People who are using Consol - to monitor - streaming pcs will use passthrough however.
 
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rockbottom

Active Member
USB 3.2 Gen 2 required for 1440p capture over 60fps. If it's available, connection should be directly to the header. No hubs...

1755975510750.png
 
qhobbes

qhobbes

Active Member
If you don't want to use passthrough for some reason, you can get a HDMI duplicator and there will still be no addintional load on the gaming pc.
 
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