Emulator slows down when recording in fullscreen under Game Capture

[Economy]

I was just trying out Game Capture, in order to record an emulator called Mednafen in fullscreen, but while it does at least record unlike under Display Capture, it also slows the emulator way down.

Log file: https://obsproject.com/logs/5DaMYdHNQWlg3FB8

Might anyone have any clues on how to fix that?

 

[qhobbes]

1. Windows 7 is not an officially supported operating system per https://obsproject.com/download . Update to Windows 10 per https://obsproject.com/blog/five-simple-tips-for-new-streamers
2. Run OBS as Admin
3. Record to MKV
4. Display and Game Capture Sources interfere with each other. Never put them in the same scene
5. Your GPU is maxed out and OBS can't render scenes fast enough. Running a game without vertical sync or a frame rate limiter will frequently cause performance issues with OBS because your GPU will be maxed out. OBS requires a little GPU to render your scene.

Enable Vsync or set a reasonable frame rate limit that your GPU can handle without hitting 100% usage.

If that's not enough you may also need to turn down some of the video quality options in the game. If you are experiencing issues in general while using OBS, your GPU may be overloaded for the settings you are trying to use.

Please check our guide for ideas why this may be happening, and steps you can take to correct it at https://obsproject.com/wiki/GPU-overload-issues
6. OBS is running on an Intel iGPU. This hardware is generally not powerful enough to be used for both gaming and running obs. Situations where only sources from e.g. cameras and capture cards are used might work. However, try using QuickSync for the encoder and this should free up some cpu cycles for your emulator.

 

[koala]

Display capture under Windows 7 is exceptionally slow. It's a Windows 7 limitation. If possible, use every other capture method, but not display capture. Windows 7 is not very much supported any more. It if works, fine. But if something doesn't work and you need support, you're mostly on your own. Software will not be fixed any more to address Windows 7 specific issues.
The solution is upgrading to Windows 10. The upgrade is still free. Don't waste your time with trying to make things work under Windows 7. Instead, spend the time with upgrading to Windows 10 and see how things will work better with less support needed.

 

[Economy]

5. Your GPU is maxed out and OBS can't render scenes fast enough. Running a game without vertical sync or a frame rate limiter will frequently cause performance issues with OBS because your GPU will be maxed out. OBS requires a little GPU to render your scene.

Enable Vsync or set a reasonable frame rate limit that your GPU can handle without hitting 100% usage.

If that's not enough you may also need to turn down some of the video quality options in the game. If you are experiencing issues in general while using OBS, your GPU may be overloaded for the settings you are trying to use.

Please check our guide for ideas why this may be happening, and steps you can take to correct it at https://obsproject.com/wiki/GPU-overload-issues
6. OBS is running on an Intel iGPU. This hardware is generally not powerful enough to be used for both gaming and running obs. Situations where only sources from e.g. cameras and capture cards are used might work. However, try using QuickSync for the encoder and this should free up some cpu cycles for your emulator.

So far, I've manage to make the changes specified in points 2 through 4, and those have worked so far, but for #5, the closest thing I could find was Settings > Video > Common FPS Value, which is set at 60.

Where do I find Vsync and wherever else I'm supposed to limit my FPS and such?

 

[qhobbes]

Limit your game framerate. See https://obsproject.com/wiki/GPU-overload-issues . See https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005552/graphics-drivers.html for Vsync.

 

[Economy]

I'm running an emulator called Mednafen, which does not have any tabs at all, let alone an option to cap the FPS.

As for Windows 10, I do not wish to download right now, because I have just seen reports today, of that version wrecking some people's computers who have upgraded.

With that, I did check the page for Vsync, but it turns out that I don't have any of the three things listed there, and downloading any of them requires Windows 10. I had also tried downloading something called DriverEasy, but the steps there require me to pay money to upgrade to its Pro version, which I would like not to do either.

 

[koala]

As for Windows 10, I do not wish to download right now, because I have just seen reports today, of that version wrecking some people's computers who have upgraded.

You will find for every update people will complain their computer crashed. Every time. Always. It's a tiny fraction of the whole installation base. There are literally a billion Windows 10 installations, and a few 100 or a few 1000 users having problems doesn't really count. It's usually people with certain or broken hardware or people who damaged their installation in the first place. The vast majority of Windows 10 users doesn't have a single issue for years, if ever.
The biggest risk is of course the upgrade itself. Make sure you have a backup and know how to restore, then you're fine and ready to just try the upgrade.